My Slave
by writer4ever14
Summary: AU Ryoma is a prince who will one day be king. Sakuno is nothing but a slave girl. Sakuno is given to Ryoma as a birthday present. As Ryoma starts to spend more time with his slave, will love blossom between the two opposites? RyomaSakuno other pairings
1. Chapter 1

My Slave

**Author's Note (IMPORTANT)**: Chapters 1 through 6 (except for 2) have been edited as of August 2013. I will be editing the rest of the chapters, but at a slower pace since I will be back in school.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own The Prince of Tennis.

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Chapter One: The Birthday Present

"Cheer up, it's your birthday!" Momo says from his spot next to Ryoma. In response, Ryoma glares at him before turning his attention back to the people in front of him. Today is his sixteenth birthday and all he wants is for this day to be over. Having a king for a father means that one day Ryoma will become king. Honestly, he has no interest in being king; he doesn't even have any interest in being prince. The only thing he wants to do is play tennis. But being the son of royalty comes with responsibility, even if he doesn't want it. Part of being prince means that all day, he's had to deal with annoying people giving him extravagant gifts just to try and gain his favor. His mother sits on his dad's other side, with his cousin Nanako next to her. They were finally down to the last gift. _Finally_, he thinks. He just has to send this person away and then he can go play tennis. And sleep. As soon as the gift comes into his view, he knows it isn't going to be that simple.

"Happy birthday, young prince" an overweight, elderly man says from where he stands in the center of the room. Ryoma just stares him, his face indifferent. "I am Akio Itoon," he says, a smug grin on his face. Ryoma groaned inwardly at the name, recognizing him as a famous slave trader. Although Ryoma doesn't really have an opinion on slavery, he has no interest in having a slave.

"I present to you, my gift for you. This beautiful slave to be used for _anything_ you want" Akio says with a wink, which makes Ryoma glare at him in disgust. He didn't need the wink to know that Akio was talking about sexual things. Didn't this guy know that Ryoma was only _16? _

Ignoring the disdain he feels, he instead focuses his attention on the girl standing next to Akio. She's wearing a loose white shirt and black pants that barely seem to fit her. Whether it is because they are too big or because she's too skinny, Ryoma doesn't know. Her long dark hair falls past her shoulders and hangs limply around her face. He takes note of the black collar around her neck that stands out vividly against the paleness of her skin.

"Bow, you worthless creature" Akiro says while giving the girl a hard kick in the back. She immediately topples to the floor with a thud, a dark spot staining her white shirt. Ryoma inwardly cringes at this, knowing how much pain the girl must be in despite the fact that she doesn't make a sound. Slowly, he stands up and makes his way over to the girl. Placing his hand under her chin, he forces her to look up at him. Her brown eyes are wide with fear and he can feel how her whole body trembles. At the sight of her cowering before him, something in him snaps and in that moment, he knows what he has to do. He knows what will happen to her if he doesn't keep her, if she has to stay with Akio.

"Follow me" Ryoma says curtly, turning to walk away.

"Are you going to have "fun" with your servant?" his dad calls, a perverted grin spread across his face. Ryoma ignored his idiotic father, smirking when he hears his mother slap him. Honestly, his dad is surprised that his son had kept the slave. He had been given slaves before and while he always kept them, he gave them away right away.

"Something must be different about this one" Rinko says quietly, her eyes trained on her son, a knowing smile on her face. Nanjuro shrugs, just hoping that his son is finally showing interest in girls.

Meanwhile, Ryoma had lead Sakuno upstairs to his bedroom. "I want you to look at me when I talk to you."

Raising her eyes slowly, Sakuno nods in response.

"What is your name?" he asks, impatient.

"Sakuno" she says so quietly that he almost doesn't hear her. Noticing the collar again, Ryoma walked over to her, intent on getting it off. When he was in front of her, she shut her eyes expecting to be hit. Instead, she feels her new master's hands, gentle, on her neck.

Her eyes jump open in surprise as Ryoma removes the collar. Trying to figure out why he did it, confusion spreads across her face. Perhaps he has a new collar for her?

"We need to get you cleaned up," Ryoma says "but before we do that I have a question." He motions for her to sit down next to him and when she doesn't move, Ryoma rolls his eyes and gently pulls her onto the bed. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen" she answers softly,

"I thought so," he carefully takes in her dirty and worn out state. "Okay first, you need to take a bath, which you can do in my bathroom," he says. "When you're done, there are towels in the closet." With that, she quietly walks into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. She can't help but grin when she turns on the bath. A bath! As a slave, she doesn't always get to bathe in an actual bathtub or shower. Maybe her new master won't be so bad after all. Memories flash through her head and she knows that regardless, still has to be careful and keep her guard up.

At the sound of his door being opened, Ryoma looks up, a small rare smile appearing on his face at the sight of his cousin Summer standing there. They had grown up around each other and she was one of the few people who could get a reaction out of him. She threw her arms around him in a hug.

"Welcome back" he says softly. Right at that moment, Sakuno stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around her. Her eyes widen at the sight of her master hugging a pretty, dark haired girl. Maybe this girl is her master's girlfriend. She is certainly pretty enough. Sakuno feels her heart drop at the thought, even though she isn't sure why. Sure, she knows her master is attractive - okay, very attractive - but that doesn't mean anything. She's had attractive masters before.

"Sakuno" her master says, turning to face her. "This is my cousin, Summer." Sakuno can't help the smile that spreads across her face at the word 'cousin'. She ignores the feeling and focuses on the girl in front of her.

"Hi" Summer says as she hugs a startled Sakuno. "I bet we are going to be great friends," she says happily, as Sakuno stares at her wide-eyed. "C'mon" she says while pulling Sakuno's arm. "You need to get new clothes and I'm here to help with that." Sakuno looks over to her master for confirmation and relaxes when he nods in her direction. She bows quickly and then hurries to follow Summer out of the room. Ryoma quickly lays down, glad that he can finally rest. He knows he can trust of Summer to take care of Sakuno. As he dozes off into a nap, he can't help but think that it is going to be interesting having Sakuno around.

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Author's Note: Eventually I will get around to rewriting this chapter (and it will be much better), until then, reviews are appreciated! :)


	2. Chapter 2: The Introductions and Rules

My Slave

Author's Note: This is the edited version of chapter 2, and I hope its much better now. Remember, I will be editing all the chapters after this, as well.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own The Prince of Tennis!

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Chapter 2: The Introductions and Rules

_Last chapter: "C'mon" Summer said while pulling Sakuno's arm. "You need to get new clothes, and I'm here to help with that." Sakuno looked over to her master for confirmation, and relaxed when he nodded in her direction. She bowed to Ryoma quickly and then hurried to follow Summer out of the room. Ryoma quickly layed down, glad that he could finally rest. He knew he could trust of Summer to take care of Sauno. As he dozed off into a nap, he couldn't help but think that it was going to be fun having this girl as a servant._

Sakuno's POV:

I followed Summer into her room, keeping my head down as we walked, the way slaves are supposed to.

"Before I find you clothes, I want to talk to you," Summer said, causing me to look up in surprise. I nodded slowly, unsure of what she could want to say to me. "First, my name is Summer and please do not add sama or anything after my name" she began, as she shot a soft smile in my direction. I blinked in surprise, unsure of how to react to that.

"Don't worry, I promise it will be fine with Ryoma," she said, cutting off my protests. "I'm against slavery, and anything that puts people beneath me. So I hate when people add sama or anything like that to my name," she explained, as my eyes widened. That was new for me.

"O-Okay" I stuttered out, as I tried to accept that this was all really happening.

"Now," Summer said as she stepped into her closet, "let's get you some clothes." I stood there, unsure of what to do. I had never really been around anyone like Summer before. I watched as Summer started placing a few pieces of clothing on her bed. Before I knew it, there was a huge pile of clothes on her bed and Summer was telling me to start trying it on. I slowly picked up the clothes, feeling how soft the fabric was. As I tried it all on, Summer gave me her opinion and soon, we were laughing like old friends. For a second I almost forgot I was a slave, and not a normal teenage girl – almost. As Summer helped me gather up all my new clothes, I couldn't help but wonder what my master would think of my new look.

Back to normal view:

Sighing, Ryoma fell back on his bed. He wiped his hand across his forehead, as he recalled the tennis match he had just finished. He had won, but now he was truly exhausted. He looked up at the sound of his door being opened. With a mischief smilespread across her face, Summer walked into the room. He raised an eye at her, as she pulled Sakuno in behind her.

"I just wanted to make sure Sakuno knew how to get back here. I'll see you guys tomorrow," Summer said as she turned to leave. With a wink in Sakuno's direction, she walked out of the room. Sakuno stood where she was, staring down at the floor.

"Come here Sakuno," Ryoma said tiredly, his eyes widening briefly when she lifted her face and walked towards him. She had on stretchy, brown leggings with a tight sleeveless shirt. There was a dark ribbon tied right below the chest, and the shirt showed off just a little bit of her curves. Her long hair fell lossely fell past her shoulders, framing her small face. The thought popped into Ryoma's head that she looked beautiful. He shook the thought out of his head, and looked at Sakuno with his normal blank expression.

"Do I look… okay?" Sakuno asked, biting her lip as she shly looked away from him.

"You look fine," Ryoma said curtly, noticing how she let out a soft sigh of relief. "Now, I need to explain the rules to you," he said, as he motioned for Sakuno to sit down next to him. When she just continued to stand where she was, he rubbed his forehead as he remembered that he had to be patient with her.

"Sit down over here," Ryoma said firmly, glad when she slowly walked over and sat down cross-legged on the other end of the end.

"Okay, the first thing is I don't want you to call me Ryoma-sama" he began, repressing a smirk at the way her eye widened. "You can just call me Ryoma-san or something like that. As for everyone else, like my parents or friends, you can just call them whatever you call me," he said carelessly, relaxing against his bed.

"Next, you are MY slave and no one else's. So you will not do anything unless I tell you to do it," Ryoma said, staring directly into her eyes as he said this. Sakuno blushed, and looked down at her folded hands.

"I understand" Sakuno said softly, not noticing the smirk that appeared on Ryoma's face at her words.

"Also, you are not allowed to leave the mansion unless you have my permission and an escort with you," he said, stretching his arms over his head. "And the most important thing is when I ask you to do something I expect you to do it right, do it quickly, and do it without complaint. If you fail to do this, you will be punished," he said sternly. "Do you understand?" he asked, to which she nodded immediately. She couldn't help the shiver that ran through her at his words. He had just sounded so...cold. Still, she had had masters who said a lot of worse things.

"Good" Ryoma said, oblivious to the reaction he had caused in his slave. "You are my personal slave, so you will be with me most of the day" he said. She gulped nervously at the thought of spending all day with Ryoma. She liked her new master but, at the same time, he sort of scared her.

"You will have a list of chores to complete everyday, along with any other tasks I give you," he said. "If you are obedient, then we will not have any problems," he finished. When he noticed that she was shaking a bit, he realized that he must have scared her. He frowned to himself, since he really hadn't wanted to scare her. He had said the same thing to all his personal servants, but obviously Sakuno was going to be different. He was going to have to be more careful with her, since he wanted her to feel comfortable here.

"You will start working tomorrow," Ryoma said softly, as he pushed himself off the bed.

"Okay, Ryoma sam- Ryoma san" Sakuno said, correcting herself. Ryoma reached out his hand for Sakuno to grab, to which she stared up at him in surprise. He just raised an eyebrow at her, waiting for her to grab his hand. She took his hand softly, letting out a gasp when she quickly pulled her up next to him. The two of them stood there for a second, with only a sliver of space separating them, before Ryoma turned around.

"Come with me," he ordered, as she quickly shook herself out of her dazed state and rushed to follow him out of the room. He led her outside, into a spacious, beautiful yard. When they first entered the yard, Sakuno was greeted with the sight of the two boys hitting a tennis ball back and forth. When Ryoma lesiurely walked up to them, they dropped the ball and turned to look at the unfamiliar girl following him.

"Sakuno, this is Momoshiro and Kaidoh," Ryoma said as he motioned to them. "Momoshiro, Kaidoh this Sakuno, my new personal servant," he said.

"Hello" Sakuno said softly, as Momoshiro grinned.

"It's nice to meet you Sakuno-chan! If you ever want to get away from Ryoma, just come find me and I promise I'll help you hide from him," Momo said with a wink, which caused Sakuno to stare at him with wide eyes, stunned that he would say something like that in front of the prince. When Ryoma only glared at him in response, Sakuno realized that they must be pretty good friends. Kaidoh simply nodded in Sakuno's direction, without saying a word.

"Come on Sakuno" Ryoma said, as he turned and walked away without another word. Sakuno said a quick goodbye to the boys, before she turned to follow Ryoma. He lead her to the tennis courts, where Tezuka and Oishi were playing a match. When Ryoma and Sakuno stepped onto the court, the two stopped their match and turned in their direction.

"Tezuka, Oishi this is my new personal slave, Sakuno," Ryoma offered, as Oishi smiled warmly and stepped up next to them.

"Welcome Sakuno. I'm Oishi and if you ever need anything, I would be gald to help," he said, as she smiled warmly back at him. Tezuka simply nodded in their direction, and Ryoma once again turned and walked away. This time, he led her back inside, to what looked to be the living room, or at least one of the living rooms

Four boys were lounging there, talking amongst each other. Ryoma shut the door behind them, causing the boys to stop talking and turn to stare in their direction. They all stared pensively at Sakuno, as she tried to convince herself not to hide away from the heavy gazes.

"Fuji, Inui, Eiji, and Taka, this is my new personal slave, Sakuno," Ryoma said boredly, as Eiji smiled and jumped up off the floor. He reached out and pulled Sakuno into a hug, startling her.

"Hi Sakuno-chan! I'm Eiji" Eiji said happily, as she slowly smiled back at him. She noticed that he had a contagious grin, and that it was hard not to smile back at him.

"Hello Sakuno-chan, I'm Fuji," the brown haired boy said to her, as he opened her eyes to glance at her. She couldn't help but blush when he offered her a smile. Something about him was kind of...mysterious. Inui had pulled out his notebook, and was already writing stuff down. Sakuno stared at him confusedly, as Taka smiled at her.

"That's Inui, he collects personal data on everyone, don't mind him," Taka explained, as Sakuno cocked her head to the side. She decided to ask Summer about him ater, and smiled at Taka in thanks. Eiji grinned mischiefly, as he handed Taka a tennis racket.

"HELLO SAKUNO! I'M TAKA! WELCOME!" he screamed suddenly, causing Sakuno to jump at the sudden noise. She expected to hit the ground, but instead she felt someone catch her. She opened her eyes to see that Ryoma had wrapped his arms around her. He put her down gently, as a blush spread across her face. She immediately looked down, wishing she could dissapear in that moment.

"I-I'm sorry, Ryoma-san" she said softly, as Ryoma shook his head.

"There is nothing to apologize for" he said simply. "You've met everyone, so let's go back upstairs" he said as he made his way towards the stairs, after saying a quick goodbye to his sempis.

"It was nice meeting you all," Sakuno said quickly, leaving all of them to stare after her. After they were gone, Inui looked up from his notebook and finally spoke.

"75% chance Echizen will fall in love with Sakuno," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. Eiji stared at him, a wicked grin on his face, while Fuji and Taka just smiled.

As soon as they entered his room, Ryoma collasped onto his bed tiredly. Sakuno simply stood in the front of the room, not sure what to do.

"Thank you for introducing me to everyone, Ryoma-san" she finally said, causing him to look up at her. Even though she was looking away from him, he could tell she was blushing.

"You can sit down, Sakuno" he said, noticing how even though she sat down, she made sure there was space between them. Pushing it to the back of his mind for now, he turned to speak to her. "All of the people you just met are the sons of the members of the royal council. They will take over for their parents one day, after I become king," he explained. Sakuno nodded in understanding, as Ryoma leaned back against the headboard.

"So, tell me about yourself" he said simply, as she jerked her head up in surprise.

"What?" she said, her confusion written all over ger face.

"I am not going to repeat," Ryoma said, his annoyance clear in his voice, causing sakuno's eyes to widen.

"Well, I'm 14 as you know. When I was about four, my parents were killed in an accident. I didn't have any other immediate family and my only other relatives didn't have the money or time to take me in. So I was sold into the slave trade" she began slowly. "A lady took care of me until I was about ten years old. She was really good to me, she was almost like a grandmother to me" she added, a nostalgic smile on her face as she fondly remembered her. Ryoma nodded, waiting for her to continue. "When I was ten, I was put up for sale for the first time. after awhile when no one bought me, Akio decided to try renting me out to people" she explained. "I was passed through a lot of different master because of this," she said softly, a shiver running through her as she remembered some of the particularly bad masters. She ignored the memories that were floating in her mind, and focused on what she was saying. "There were a few people who wanted to buy me, but Akio-sama wouldn't sell me to anyone because he said he made too much money renting me out. Then, he made the decision to give me to you as a present, hoping to gain your favor, and that was how I ended up here," she finished, her grown eyes glancing up at Ryoma from under her eyelashes.

Ryoma studied the girl in front of him carefully, going over what she had said in his head. A surge of pity had went through him at her story. No friends and no family, it was a miracle she had turned out okay. He made the decision then to be nice to her, and make sure she would be happy here.

l"Well then, tomorrow you will start work" Ryoma started, " or now, you can wear the clothes Summer gave you but soon we will get you your own new clothes."

"No, it's okay Ryoma-san, I don't need any new clothes. It'll just be a bother to you," she said, watching as Ryoma rolled his eyes.

"It isn't a bother, Sakuno. Besides, what did I tell you about disobeying me?" he said, his eyebrow raised. Sakuno eyes widened even more (if that's possible) when she realized that she had just indirectly disobeyed her master. She immediately jumped off the bed and bowed, while trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

"I'm sorry, Ryoma-san. Please punish me however you see fit." Both of Ryoma's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. She thought she would be punished for _that_? What kind of master had Akio _been_? He decided not to think about it now, and gently spoke up.

"I am not going to punish you, Sakuno. You will never be punished for something as trifle as that," he said, as she looked up in surprise. But she always got punished when she disobeyed! It was normal for her master to punish her when she made a mistake. She stared at Ryoma with a confused expression on her face, and he realized that it would take her time to get used to how things were here. "It's getting late and i'm exhausted, so we're going to go to sleep," he said. "Normally, we will go to bed at the same time unless I need you to do something. Understand?" Ryoma asked. Sakuno nodded, just relieved that he hadn't punished her. "You can sleep there," Ryoma said, motioning to a futon that was set up in the corner. Sakuno furrowed her eyebrows at the sight of it. She hadn't remembered it being there earlier.

Seeing her confusion, Ryoma said, "I had that brought in here so you would have a place to sleep". Sakuno opened her mouth, getting ready to say that it was okay, that she could sleep on the floor, when she remembered how Ryoma had said to listen to him.

"Do you need anything before I go to bed?" she asked softly.

"No, thats okay" Ryoma said while lying back down. Sakuno walked over the futon and lay down quietly. It was soft and really comfortable. It was much more than she had ever had before. Although she had told Ryoma about how she ended up here, she didn't need to tell him trivial things about where she used to sleep and such. She knew he had more important things to think about.

"Good-night Ryoma-san, and thank you for everything" she said, whispering the last part. He smiled to himself, surprised by how grateful she was for something so little.

"Good-night Sakuno" he said quietly, as his eyes drifted shut.. He let sleep consume him, but not before he took one last glance at the girl already sleeping peacefully in his corner.

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Author's Note: So this s my edited version of the second chapter :) I will be editing all the rest of the chapters, and i will probably have the next chapter done within the next two or three weeks. Thanks for reading, and reviews and comments are always appreciated :)

Sam


	3. Chapter 3: The First Day

My Slave

**Author's Note, IMPORTANT**: I started this story years ago when I was much younger and am now taking the time to go through the chapters and edit/revise them. For those of you that read the story, I plan on posting the new chapter sometime within the next week. Thank you for your patience and to anyone still reading the story.

Thanks again you guys!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Prince of Tennis!

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Chapter 3: The First Day

Sakuno slowly opened her brown eyes, sitting up when she remembered that she was in her new master, no, Ryoma's room. Today was her first day of 'work' and she didn't want to do a poor job. She liked her new master more than any of her previous ones and didn't want to annoy him. He had given her a list of chores the night before and she had memorized it. First, she was to wake up Ryoma and then go get his breakfast and bring it up to him. She quietly made her way over to the dresser, pulling out clothes to wear. She made her way into the bathroom, where she slipped on a pair of blue jeans and a simple black t-shirt. Once she finished getting ready for the day, she glanced at herself in the mirror, trying to steady her nerves.

"You can so this, Sakuno," she muttered, making her way over to where Ryoma was sleeping, she couldn't help but notice how peaceful he looked in his sleep. She could feel herself blush when she also couldn't help but notice how attractive he looked. Shaking the inappropriate thoughts out of her head, she reached out and gently shook him.

"Ryoma-san, it's time to get up," she said loudly. Well, loud for her anyway. When Ryoma opened his eyes, he saw Sakuno above him, her brown eyes wide and hesitant.

"You can continue with your chores now," Ryoma muttered, while sitting up. Sakuno nodded and quickly made her way out of the room. She quickly found the kitchen and grabbed the tray of food that she knew was for her master. She was more careful than usual, as she carried the tray up the stairs. She was determined not to drop anything. When she arrived back at the room, Ryoma was just pulling his shirt over his head. Fighting back a blush at the glimpse of his toned stomach, she sat the tray down on the end table, bowed slightly, and then stood near his bed waiting for his next command.

"You can sit and eat, Sakuno," he said. Sakuno blinked in surprise. Wasn't that food for Ryoma? "There is enough food here for both of us," Ryoma added, after he noticed her hesitation. Glancing at the tray, she noticed there really was a lot of food. There was fresh fruit, different types of muffins, eggs, pancakes, and bacon. She couldn't remember the last time she had had any of this stuff. Still, how did she know Ryoma wasn't trying to trick her? Get her to eat at it and then yell at her for it. In the end, temptation (and hunger) won out and she reached out and grabbed a muffin. Ryoma hid his smirk at her action, wondering how long she was going to stand there and debate it.

"How is it?" he asked casually.

"It is delicious!" she said. As soon as she said that, she blushed and looked away. Why she was blushing, Ryoma had no clue. All he knew was that she always seemed to be blushing. Ignoring it, he continued eating silently. They sat there for the next ten minutes, neither of them saying a word. Sakuno thought about saying something, but wasn't quite ready to risk embarssment again.

"Continue with your chores and I will see you at lunch" Ryoma said once they had both finished. He picked up the tray, oblivious to the surprised look on Sakuno's face when he did. It took her a moment to realize Ryoma had left the room and once she did, she jumped up, not wanting to waste any time.

She smiled as she walked around the room, picking up the few pieces of discarded clothes. There wasn't much and Sakuno was starting to get the idea that being Ryoma's personal slave wasn't going to be anywhere as much work as she thought it would be. She made her way to the laundry room, proud that she was able to find her way there on her own. (She had taken a wrong turn or two, but he had gotten there eventually). When she pushed the door open, she was greeted by the sight of Summer bending over a machine.

"Sakuno!" she said loudly, walking over to hug her. Hiding her surprise, she hugged her back. "Are those Ryoma's clothes?" she asked eyeing the basket in Sakuno's hands.

"Yes it is" Sakuno answered. Summer rolled her blue eyes, sighing loudly as she did.

"I swear that boy is so lazy. I can't believe he is making you do HIS laundry. Boys, I swear, can't do nothing for themselves. I should tell him to do it" Summer said, hands on her hips.

"No, please don't" Sakuno said quickly stepping in front of Summer. "It is my job as his personal slave to obey his wishes" Sakuno said quiety. "It's just laundry, anyway" she added, causing Summer to smirk at her.

"I know but it annoys me that he is SO lazy" Summer said with an eye roll. Sakuno giggled at this, which made Summer smile. "You mind if I help you?" Summer aske, immediately causing Sakuno to stop laughing and shake her head.

"No, it is not fit for you to do this! You are a la- "Really, I want to help you. I don't mind at all. Please let me help?" Summer interrupted, pouting in a overly-dramatic way hat made Sakuno laugh out loud. Sakuno wasn't sure what to say. Summer was technically a princess, why would she want to help Sakuno wash clothes? It didn't make sense to poor, confused Sakuno. Still, since she had become a slave, Summer was the first person to be this kind to her. She had never really had a friend before and when she looked at Summer, she couldn't help but think that she would really like to have one, to know what it felt like to be _normal_.

"Okay, I really appreciate your help" Sakuno finally said, smiling at the grin that spread across Summer's face. As the two girls sat next to each other seperating clothes, Sakuno brought up the question that had been in the back of her mind since she saw Summer here. "Summer, why were you down here anyway?" Sakuno asked quietly.

"I was washing my own clothes, of course," she answered.

"But, why?" Sakuno asked, her confusion etched across her face. For a moment, Summer paused what she was doing and turned to face Sakuno.

"I do everything for myself. I don't have a personal slave. And if you're wondering, I don't have one because I'm against slavery," she said with a shrug. "Besides, I don't mind doing my own chores at all" Summer said. "I like doing things for myself."

"Oh" was all Sakuno could manage to say in response. Sure she knew that there were people in the country against slavery, that were constantly working to see it abolished, but she had never met someone who was against it before. Not anyone who would admit to it openly anyway. She smiled warmly in Summer's direction, not knowing at the time that this would be a moment she would go to remember for the rest of her life.

As the two worked, Summer asked Sakuno all about her self; what her likes were, her dislikes, and things like that. In return, she told her all about herself. The next hour flew by, with Sakuno laughing more than she had in a long, long time. Sakuno had always been shy, but something about Summer brought out a different side of her. If anyone could see them, it would be clear that they were quickly on their way to becoming best friends.

Before she knew it, Sakuno was hurrying to the dining room, where she was supposed to meet Ryoma for lunch. She was well aware she was late. She had lost track of time with Summer. She knew that Ryoma probably noticed her lateness too. She froze in the doorway of the dining room when she saw Ryoma sitting at the table, a bored expression on his face. She gulped nervously, hoping that he wasn't too mad.

Ryoma looked up at Sakuno and said, "You're late."

"I'm sorry, Ryoma-san" she said immediately, face flushed.

"Don't apologize," he sighed. "Sit down and eat," he added. Not wanting to push her luck, she pulled a chair out and quickly began eating. They ate in complete silence, with Sakuno glancing up just once to look at him. Ryoma caught her gaze and smirked, causing her eyes to shoot back down. When they were done, Sakuno followed Ryoma into a living room where his parents and Summer were. "Sakuno, this is my father, Nanjiro" Ryoma said, an annoyed look in his face. Nanjiro grinned wildly as he kissed Sakuno's hand.

"Hello, I am the cold idiot's father. You can call me Nanjiro. You sure are a pretty young girl. My son is lucky," he said. Sakuno blushed wildly and managed a small thank you. This was the _king_? She couldn't believe he was talking to her, let alone being nice to her.

"Hello, Sakuno. I am Ryoma's mother, Rinko," the woman said. The first thing Sakuno noticed about her was that she was beautiful. Her smile was warm, and she looked every bit the way Sakuno imagined a queen would look. She pulled Sakuno into a small hug and said, "If my son ever gives you any trouble you can tell me." Ryoma scowled at this.

"You can come to me, too" Summer added. Ryoma glared at her but Summer just smirked at him . Sakuno smiled at the two. They really were like a brother and sister. "How is my brother treating you, anyway?" Summer asked. All eyes turned to Sakuno at this question, including Ryoma's. Sakuno fidgeted with her hands nervously, her eyes looking anywhere but Ryoma.

"He is treating me better then he should be. He really has been to kind to me," Sakuno said bringing her gaze to the floor. Summer rolled her eyes in response and Ryoma opened his mouth to speak but shut it when he saw the matching glares his mother and Summer were sending him.

"Your father and I have to go over some things for the council meeting tonight, we'll see at dinner Ryoma," Rinko said gently pulling Nanjiro out of the room who was shaking his head, laughing. Ryoma had no desire to know what that was about. Turning to Sakuno, he excused himself and said a curt good-bye. Sakuno went about finishing her chores, working right until dinner. Summer came and found her, dragging her to the kitchen with her. After having lunch with Ryoma, eating dinner with Summer was relaxing. Around Summer, words flowed freely from her. After dinner, she reported back to the bedroom, where Ryoma sat casually on the bed.

"Did you finish all your chores yet?" he asked.

"I finished the ones on your list but I didn't finish the other ones you gave me" Sakuno said firmly.

"Well, don't worry about those" Ryoma said. "You're done for the night," he added. Sakuno blinked at him, not sure she heard him right.

"B-But I didn't finish them," she stammered.

"I said you were finished for tonight so you are finished" he said with a scowl.

"Now, would you like to go for a walk with me?" Ryoma asked.

"Okay," Sakuno said, not trusting herself to say anything more. She would be lying if she said being around Ryoma didn't intimidate her.

Ryoma smiled and grabbed her wrist to pull her along which, of course, caused Sakuno to blush wildly. Ryoma led her outside to a garden and started walking down the path.

Sakuno's POV:

I sighed as we made our way through the garden. I was glad he brought me out here. It was truly beautiful. I glanced at Ryoma, who had his hands stuffed in his pockets and a small smile on his face. It was so different than the usual smirk he always seemed to wear. As we walked, I shivered when a cool breeze hit my skin. Ryoma must have noticed because he pause in his steps and shrugged off his jacket. He held it out to me with a pointed look on his face and it took me a moment to figure out what he wanted me to do.

"I ca-can't take that! It's yours!" I protested. Ryoma ignored me and wrapped it around my shoulders, gently touching my collarbone as he did, sending shivers of a different kind down my spine. I started to take it off but stopped when Ryoma placed his hands over mine.

"If I have to order you to keep it on, I will," Ryoma said sternly, but the teasing smile on his face gave him away. I smiled at him and gave in and pulled the jacket tighter around me. In truth, it was really warm and large, which made me snuggle into the jacket. I looked up at the sky, taking in all the stars and the moon, reflecting on my first day. All in all, today wasn't that bad. By the time we made it back to the bedroom, I had decided that I was going to like it here.

Thanks for reading! Reviews are much appreciated ;)


	4. Chapter 4: Meeting New People

**Disclaimer**: I do NOT own The Prince of Tennis!

**Author's Note: **I am currently going through this story and editing/revising the chapters. (Mostly grammatical and structural stuff, no major aspect of the plot will be changed). This chapter has been edited as of July 2013, and the rest of the chapters will hopefully be edited within the next few weeks. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy :)

**Chapter 4: Meeting New People**

Sakuno's POV:

Sweeping the floor, I hum to myself. This is one of my easiest chores and it gives me time to think. I've been here for about a week now and I'm really starting to like it here. As far as masters go, Ryoma is by far the best one I've ever had. Sure, it would be nice if he was more… talkative but I've learned that Ryoma is like that to everyone and not just me. Besides, I'm grateful that he is as kind to me as he is.

"Sakuno!" I look up to see Summer coming my way. Over the last week, Summer and I have become pretty close. She is the first friend I've ever had and I couldn't have asked for a better one. I am curious to how Ryoma and her met, considering they couldn't be more different. I put the broom down making a mental note to ask her about it later.

"Hey Summer. What's up?"

"Ah, Ryoma wants you to report to his room right now" She said, her arms crossed over her thin blue tank top. When I wipe the sweat off my forehead, for the first time, I wish I felt comfortable enough to wear just that.

"But I have to finish doing this" I motion towards the broom on the floor at our feet. Summer rolls her blue eyes impatiently.

"I'll finish it; just go already. I know you want to see your _lover_" Summer said not hiding the mischief in her voice. I could feel my face heat up at her comment. Yes, I am attracted to Ryoma, which I admitted to her yesterday. I can't deny that he's cute and that I get butterflies in my stomach every time I have to talk to him. I am also well aware that there is no way Ryoma could be attracted to me. I know that if I say that to Summer, she'll tell me I'm wrong. Ryoma doesn't have to say anything for me to know his opinion on me. He's royalty and I'm a slave girl – there is only one opinion he could have.

"Well, I will be on my way then" I say, heading towards the bedroom I shared with Ryoma.

"See you later." I quickly reached his room and knocked slightly on the door. When I heard Ryoma say a soft "enter," I let myself into the room. I take in the sight of Ryoma sitting on his bed, arms crossed over his chest with his eyes shut. He motions for me to sit and I sit down on the bed facing him. It was at that moment that I noticed the new dresser in the room. Ryoma followed my gaze and smirked.

"That's for you."

"For me?" I ask, watching him nod in confirmation.

"It's for your new clothes which if you look, are already in there." I blink in surprise. I had already been given some clothes. How much more did I need?

"Summer picked it out for you. She seems to think that you'll like it," he said. I got up and walked over to it, opening the top draw. My eyes widened when I saw how much clothes was in it. Rummaging through it, I smile at the soft feel of all the clothes, and the pretty colors. I pick up one particular shirt, examining it. It is bright red in color, with a low cut halter neckline. I could never wear something like this! I wouldn't have the guts to. Wondering why Summer would give me a top like this, my mind went back to a conversation we had…

_Flashback:_

_"Sakuno, if you want Ryoma to notice you, you can't be afraid to use some drastic measures" Summer said, her tone serious, before rummaging through her closest._

_"Serious measures?" I repeat, my eyes wide._

_"Yes, like wearing something like this," she said, holding up an incredibly tight looking black skirt._

_"But I-I ca-can- I don't want to hear you can't" Summer interrupted me. "You are a GIRL Sakuno. And to be hot, you have to think you are the hottest thing there ever was. It's all about how you feel about yourself" Summer said, her blue eyes determined. "Besides, somewhere inside Ryoma is a normal sixteen year old boy with hormones. We just need to bring him out."_

_"Okay" I finally said and resolved to at least try and do what Summer said. After all, it couldn't hurt….right?_

_End Flashback_

I sigh and meet Ryoma's eyes directly, surprising him.

"Thank you," I said, a genuine smile on face.

"This is your room too, and you needed clothes." I hide my smile when he calls the room mine.

"Can I ask you something else?"

"You don't have to ask me if you can ask me something" he said, exasperation in his voice.

"How did you and Summer meet?" I ask quickly sitting back down cross-legged on the bed. I can tell the question takes him by surprise by the way his eyes shoot open.

"It's a long story," he said after awhile.

"I have time." He stares at me for a few minutes before a very small, almost microscopic smile appears on his face.

"The first time we ever met we were both around 10 years old. Even then, I wasn't one to socialize with people" he said his eyes shutting as he remembered. I smile, leaning down to listen to him. "Summer and me met… by accident. I was practicing tennis (what else does he do?) by myself at a training area when Summer showed up. I tried to ignore her, but she was able to get me to talk. And once she did… I couldn't stop talking to her"." Remembering how easily it had been to talk to Summer my first day, this didn't surprise me.

"I know what you mean," I said. "Whenever Summer talks to me, I find myself telling her everything." Ryoma smirks at me and shakes his head.

"That's Summer. Anyway, we became friends and before I knew it, she had become my best friend, my sister really. She was the first person I was ever really close to. Her family moved away a few years ago, so now she goes back and fourth between living here and living with her brother."

"Her… brother?" I know that Summer thinks of Ryoma as her brother, but he lives here. Ryoma smirked at the confused look that took over Sakuno's face. He was surprised when the thought _Sakuno looks really cute like that _popped into his head. He ignored that thought, focusing on their conversation.

"I don't mean me," he said. "Summer has a blood brother named Kyle. They're really close, closer than then even me and Summer are" he added. I found it hard to believe that anyone could be closer than Ryoma and Summer. I had never seen anyone closer than them. "Summer probably didn't tell you, because she'll bring him around to meet you."

"Are you and her brother friends?" I asked, to which he simply nodded.

"Thank you for telling me all of that". With that, I quietly walk out of the room, a smile on my face. If she had stayed another second, she might have noticed the same small smile on Ryoma's face.

The next day…..

"I don't know about this," I said nervously.

"You will do fine" Summer assured me. Today, Summer's brother was coming over and she had convinced me to wear the red halter-top with a pair of tight dark jeans. Summer had also done my hair for me, and it now fell long and straight past my shoulders. Currently, She was bent over me, applying makeup to my eyes.

"There, I'm done!' she finally said, stepping away from me..

"You can look now." I slowly opened my eyes and walked over to the full-length mirror. I gasped at what I saw. I reached out and touched the mirror to make sure I was really seeing me. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the mirror. I looked so… different and… better. Definitely better. My hair was perfectly straight and for the first time that I could remember, looked shiny and healthy. There was sparkly bronze makeup on my eyes made them seemed brighter than usual. For the first time in years my skin looked smooth and healthy.

Then there was my outfit. My legs looked long under the tight jeans and the top was just a little low-cut revealing just a bit of my chest. At first I had been worried that it was to revealing, but then Summer had pointed out that I wasn't showing anything. When I look in the mirror, I'm used to seeing a girl with dull hair and eyes. I'm used to seeing an ugly girl, whose was broken a long time ago. Looking at my reflection now, for the first time, I feel _hope_. Hope that maybe I am worth something. Hope that somewhere in me is a normal girl that Ryoma could fall in love with.

"I'm a genius" Summer said a crazy grin on her face. I grinned back at her, feeling tears well up in my eyes.

"Thank you" I said looking myself over again.

"You don't have to thank me. I didn't do much, just bring out what was already there. Now c'mon, stop crying or you'll ruin your makeup," she said with a wink. This got me laughing and before I knew it, Summer had grabbed my hand, and we were making our way downstairs.

"Oh and Sakuno, it's not just my brother you are meeting" she threw in casually.

"WHAT?!" I said stopping suddenly. Summer grinned apologetically. "I forgot to tell you that my boyfriend and Kyle's girlfriend are also coming."

"Your boyfriend?" I said. Summer nodded. Honestly. I was nervous about meeting one person. I wasn't crazy about the idea of meeting more people. Still, Summer had told me about her boyfriend and I couldn't pass up a chance to meet him. That's what girlfriend do, isn't it? Summer led us to the main room and paused outside the door.

"You ready to give Ryoma the shock of his life? That or at least give him a har-

"SUMMER" I shrieked, having spent enough time with Summer to know where this conversation was going. Summer just held her hands up in surrender and with a wink, opened the door, leaving me to follow after her.

The moment we entered, everyone turned to look towards us. Ryoma was there, standing next to a boy with clear blue eyes who was undoubtedly Summer's brother. Next to them stood a pretty red haired girl and a tall attractive boy who must have been Summer's boyfriend.

Summer threw her arms around the red haired girl in a tight hug before being swept off the ground by her boyfriend. I watched as he spun Summer around, before pressing an eager kiss to her lips, which Summer returned quickly, her arms wrapping around his neck. This wasn't a simple little kiss like I was expecting. No, this was the kind of passionate kiss that I had only ever heard other slave girls whispering about. I looked away from them only to catch Ryoma's eye, who was staring at me with an unusually intense look on his face. For a second, the image of Ryoma kissing me like that flashed through my head, and I tore my eyes away from him before he could see my blush.

As for Ryoma, his eyes were still stuck on Sakuno, taking in the sight of her. Although he would never admit it, he had already known Sakuno was pretty. (It had taken a lot of pestering from Momoshiro and his dad to make him realize that). Looking at her now, the room suddenly got hot and for the first time, Ryoma was tempted to see what it would feel like to have her pressed against him, wrapped in his arms. He was tempted to see what it would feel like to ki-

"Sakuno, this is my brother, Kyle" Summer said, pulling both teens out of their thoughts. I stepped forward to give a soft bow. With the same pale skin and azure blue eyes, there was no mistaken they were related. Kyle observed me carefully, cocking his head when I bowed. In response, he held out his hand and when I reached out to shake it, he offered me a warm smile that made his resemblance to Summer so striking that for a moment, I thought I was looking at twins.

"And this is Chase," She said turning to the other boy, whose messy blonde hair and dark eyes stood out against his tan skin. When he grinned wildly at me, it was easy to see the wild, rebellious young boy that Summer had described falling in love with.

"Nice to meet you," I said and before I could bow, he surprised me by reaching out and pulling me into a hug.

"Summer's told me all about you. You're as pretty as she said you were," he winked. "You know, if you want, I have some friends who I'm sure would love to meet you." I gasped at him and tried to search for words to say in response, but nothing came out.

"I'm Carrie, Kyle's girlfriend," the pretty red head spoke up, saving me from having to respond. "Don't mind Chase. His mouth is a lot quicker than his brain," she smiled, ignoring Chase's protests in the background. Smiling back at her, I was grateful for how she had intervened. A few minutes later found us all sprawled out on the couches, with Ryoma next to me.

"Is something wrong Ryoma?" I asked, noticing the way he seemed to glare at Chase, who was whispering to Summer, his arm thrown around her shoulder. He just shook his head and before I could think about it anymore, I was distracted by Carrie turning to talk to me.

Third person POV:

The rest of the day went by in a blur and nighttime came all too quickly. Yawning, Sakuno fixed the blanket on my makeshift bed before she lay down. They had hung out together all day. She felt at ease with Summer's friends immediately. Kyle tended to be quieter and more serious, and she giggled when she realized he was a lot like Ryoma. No wonder Ryoma likes him. Chase was, well, loud and blunt and extremely funny. And with the way he looked at Summer with nothing but pure adoration, Sakuno couldn't help but be happy for her friend. Everyone had been kind to her and treated her with the upmost respect. For the first time in her life, she felt like a normal girl.

Still, Ryoma's behavior kept bugging her. He barely talked to her, and why that on its own wasn't unusual, he had glared at Chase whenever he leaned in to tell her a story and interrupted them with a comment about Chase being too loud and annoying. Of course, when he made these comments, his face was a mask of bored indifference. Sakuno flopped onto her side in frustration. Maybe she was making more out of this then there was. Maybe he really was just annoyed by Chase. As she mused over whether or not to bring this up to Summer tomorrow, Ryoma entered the room.

"What are you doing?" Sakuno sat up at the sudden question, staring at Ryoma, her eyebrows furrowed.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Instead of answering, he walked over to the bed, pulling his shirt off as he went.

"You are going to sleep on my bed with me from now on" he said heading towards the bathroom.

"What?" she asked quietly, not quite sure she heard him right.

He paused in the doorway of the bathroom, turning to look at her, a glint in his gold eyes. "You heard me," he smirked. When he walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later in just his boxers, Sakuno turned her face in the other direction, blushing.

Sensing her discomfort, he held back a laugh. He quietly walked over to her and slipped his hand under her chin forcing her to look him in the eye. "There's no need for you to sleep on a futon, when there is plenty of space on my bed" he smirked, watching her face turn redder and redder. With that, dropped down onto the bed, arms crossed beneath his head. Ignoring how fast her heart was beating, Sakuno followed him to the bed, and hesitantly laid down on the opposite side, leaning toward the edge of the bed.

"Ryoma-kun?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Um, its just that, I thought you seemed a bit…annoyed today. Is everything okay?" Ryoma turned to face her his eyes meeting hers. He was silent for a few minutes and Sakuno could feel herself biting her lip, worried that she had crossed the line.

"You let Chase hug you," he finally said, forcing her eyes up.

"From now on, you are not allowed to let anyone of the opposite gender, besides me, touch you," he said. Although his face gave nothing away, there was a smugness in his tone that She didn't miss. Her mouth dropped open and while she wanted to scream at him and say Chase was her friend and it was her body and she could do whatever she pleased, a much larger part of her was wondering why Ryoma would even care if another man hugged her. Unless, maybe, he happened to be…jealous? At the thought, Sakuno could feel a smile start to spread on her face. Before the giddy feeling could sink in, his next words sent her crashing back down.

"You are mine and I don't like anyone touching my property," he added, his eyes looking at some point beyond Sakuno.

"Oh." Was all she could manage to reply, her heart dropping to her stomach. She rolled over so Ryoma couldn't see the pained look that crossed her face or the way tears built up in her eyes. He frowned in her direction, silently taking in the soft shuddering of her shoulders that that gave her away. Damn! He hadn't meant to hurt her. He hadn't planned on saying anything. Running his hand through his hair, he sighed and turned over. Why had he said anything? Why did seeing Chase whisper in Sakuno's ear make him want to yank him away from her? Deciding he was too tired to try and understand it now, he closed his eyes, deciding he would just have to make it up to her tomorrow.

**Author's Note**: As always, please review :) Reviews are greatly appeciated! If there are any questions, feel free to message me. Thank you for reading!


	5. Chapter 5: Trust

**Chapter 5: Trust**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis. **

****Author's Note**: This chapter has been edited as of August 2013.

* * *

Sakuno groggily opens her eyes, stretching as she does. The futon she had been sleeping on was comfortable, but it can't compare to sleeping on a real bed. She glances around the room realizing Ryoma is nowhere to be seen. Slipping out of bed, she tiredly walks over to the dresser, a folded note on the top of it catching her eye. Opening it, she immediately recognizes Ryoma's handwriting etched across the page.

_Sakuno_

_I'm going to the marketplace in town today and I want you to come with me. Your chores are taken care of and you have the day off today. When you are ready, meet me in the main lobby. _

_Ryoma_

She reads the note carefully, and then re-reads it a second and a third time. A day off? It's an unfamiliar concept to her. Ryoma's words from last night flash through her head and while they still hurt, she knows this is as close to an apology as she is going to get from him. Reaching into the dresser for a t-shirt, her eyes drift to the shirt next to it. It is a soft stretchy black shirt, made up of lace. It has a more conservative boat neckline but is the kind of tight that only a woman could wear. She runs her fingers over the soft material of the shirt, a smile forming on her face…

Meanwhile, Ryoma is downstairs, wondering what is taking Sakuno so long. When he hears her footsteps on the stairs, he opens his mouth to tease her about always being late, but freezes when he catches sight of her. Her long hair is free of its usual braid and falls freely around her face. The t-shirt she has on clings to her, emphasizing her soft curves. There's a smile on her face and Ryoma can't remember ever seeing her look so free. When she stops next to him and bends down to pull her coat on, his eyes are drawn to the hint of cleavage that peaks out. Cursing to himself, he wonders why puberty has to pick _now_ to kick in.

Meanwhile, Sakuno can tell Ryoma is surprised, his wide-eyed gaze giving it away. He quickly looks away, but not before she notices the way his eyes seem to darken. She's seen that look on men before. She's seen Momo look at An like that when he thought she wasn't looking, seen Chase openly gaze at Summer with it, and seen previous masters gaze at the older slave girls like that…Ryoma had been looking at her with lust. At this sudden realization, Sakuno stops short, causing Ryoma to bump into her, instinctually wrapping his arms around her. For a moment, they stand there pressed against each other, both unused to the warm feeling that spreads through them.

"Let's get going," Ryoma mutters, pulling away. He walks ahead and ignores the part of his mind that yells at him to go right back up to her and finish what he started. This, he knows, is going to be a long day.

Ryoma watches as Sakuno carefully browses through the jewelry stretched out across a table. A young merchant girl stands behind the table, a smile on her face. They had been in town for hours and gone to five or six different shops. When he offered to buy her something, she swore she didn't want anything. Sighing, Ryoma focuses his eyes on the men around them, glaring in disgust at anyone who glances in Sakuno's direction. He smirks in satisfaction when the men pale and hurry away. Of course, whenever Sakuno turns to talk to him, his face is back in his normal, indifferent expression. He had been dealing with men leering and staring at her all day. Some pathetic souls even had the nerve to approach her and try to hit on her. Most of them backed down when they realized who he was. Smirking, he thought of the one guy who had persisted. He asked the guy to step aside and have a private conversation with him. By the time their conversation was over, he was positive that man wouldn't be bothering them anymore. A frown spread on his face at the thought of any of those vile creatures being near her. He watches Sakuno hold up a necklace, admiring it. It's a ruby heart, the sunlight reflecting off of it.

He makes his way over to the booth, overhearing the shop girl say, "It is all genuine ruby, mam." Before Sakuno could place it back on the table, he covers her hand with his, holding her in place.

"Do you like this?" he asks, his tone bored.

"Well, yes it is beautiful but it's much to ex- "We'll take this" he interrupts her, holding the necklace out to the shop girl, who just smiles in return. In one motion, he pays for the necklace and stuffs the bag in his pocket, using his other hand to pull a startled Sakuno away from the booth.

"Thank you for buying me that necklace, Ryoma-kun" she finally says, a soft smile lighting up her face. _She's beautiful_, Ryoma thought, almost missing her asking him, "where are we going?"

"You'll see."

Sakuno's POV:

I stare wide-eyed at the beach in front of us, taking in the sun just beginning to set against the ocean. I've never been to a beach before. Following Ryoma's lead, I slip off my shoes before I step into the soft, grainy sand. Except for us, the beach is empty. As we start to walk along the water's edge, it occurs to me that our hands are still linked and I bite back a smile.

"I thought you would like it here," Ryoma says suddenly, forcing my eyes away from the crashing waves.

"I do. I've never seen anything like it. It's beautiful," my eyes drift to the water, before turning back to face Ryoma.

"What are you doing?!" I take in the sight of Ryoma taking his shirt off.

"This," he smirks. Next thing I know, I find myself thrown over Ryoma's shoulder, as he heads out into the crashing water.

"Ryoma! I can't swim!" I punch him in the back repeatedly, my face heating up at the way he laughs at my futile attempt.

"It's okay, you're safe with me," he says. Then, the jerk that he is, drops me in the water. Of course, I immediately began flailing about and panicking, which leads me to grab onto the nearest object – which just happens to be Ryoma's shirtless body. It's a few moments before I finally open my eyes, to see Ryoma staring down at me, his face amused. "The water is shallow here, you can stand," he says dryly. Before I could protest, he gently pries my hands off his arms and places me back on my feet. I'm relieved to see that Ryoma was right and the water comes up to my waist. Still, my eyes narrowing in on Ryoma, I can't forget the fear and panic that had just coursed through me moments ago.

"I'm so going to get you back for that," I say, surprising both Ryoma and myself at my words. He reaches out, takes my hands and place them on his shoulders.

"Here, you can dunk me under."

"What?" I say startled.

"It's a peace offering," he says, his usual bored expression on his face.

"Okay," I say. The moment I go to press my hands down, Ryoma reaches out and grabs me around the middle, swinging me up into his arms. I shriek at the sudden movement, barely catching Ryoma's wink.

"Or we can go under together," he says right before he pulls us both down under the water, his arms wrapped firmly around me. A minute later we came up, Ryoma laughing and me sputtering. Before I knew it, I was laughing beside him. When he finally grabs my hand to pull me out of the water, I'm still laughing and I don't miss the small smile that's still on Ryoma's face.

Humming softly to myself, I make my way to the bedroom. I've been here for about a month now and I'm happy. Still, sometimes that longing for freedom blooms in my chest, and for just a second, I imagine what it would be like to truly be free. To be able to go anywhere I want to, to travel and see the world. To have been able to meet Ryoma as a normal girl,a girl that could be good enough for him. Knowing these kind of thoughts only upset me, I push them to the back of my mind and focus on the fact that I'm happy _here_. I might not be free, but I'm healthy and safe. And I have friends, good friends. And's that's good enough...it has to be.

"Sakuno-chan, I'll be right back. I need to go check to see if An arrives. You'll be okay by yourself for a few minutes, right?" Momo asks quickly. I nod, not even paying attention, my thoughts at war. When I finally realize what Momo leaving means, that I'm outside by myself, that I could…_escape_, I freeze. From where I stand, I can see the entrance. All I have to do is make it out of here. One half of me is screaming at me not to do it, that it's the wrong decision. I don't know what posses me to even consider it. All I know is that I start running and don't stop. I run faster and faster, never stopping to catch my breath or look back. The gate gets closer and closer until I burst out of the gate and finally stop to catch my breath.

My eyes well up with tears at the thought that I could finally be free. Immediately, I think about where I should head next, about where I have the best chance of finding work. Me eyes snap up and the realization that I am still on the property slams into me like a brick. Exiting the gate hasn't taken me out of the property. Instead, all it has done is lead me to another front yard-like area. Panic kicking in, I move to start running when someone grabs me from behind, roughly slamming me into the gate. Ignoring the pain in my back, I open my eyes to see Momoshiro in front of me, his eyes blazing. At the unfamiliar glare on his face, the color drains from my face.

Wordlessly, he picks me up and heads back towards the mansion. Dizziness explodes in my head when the reality of what I had just done finally sinks in. I just tried to _run_ away. I've only ever done that once before, a long time ago before I realized the cruel reality of the world. The memory of my punishment still gives me nightmares. _What was I thinking? _

Momoshiro drops me off in Ryoma's room and leaves without a word or glance in my direction. Two minutes later, Ryoma barges in, the door slamming behind him. I freeze at the sight of him, not reacting when he roughly grabs my wrist and forces me to look up at him.

"What were you thinking?! You tried to run away!" he hisses. I shut my eyes, not wanting to see the cold, sneering look spread across his face.

"How dare you try and do that! Do you know how much you embarrassed me? And why? I haven't been anything but kind to you. I never hit you. I gave you time off and everything you needed. Was being my servant really that bad?" he demands, his hand clenching painfully around my arm. I can deal with the pain. What I can't deal with is the way Ryoma is looking at me. When I don't respond, he pushes me against the wall and brings his face dangerously close to mine.

"You have no clue how mad I was when Momo told me you had run away. I was nice enough to let you go outside and you run away? Do you have any respect for me at all?" Opening my eyes, I wish I have the strength to tell him that he has no idea how much I respect him.

"You're such a useless girl, I don't know why I even keep you around. Maybe I should just sell you to your old master" he says, disdain clear in his voice. It is those words that finally pull me out of my trance.

"No…" I whisper, tears rolling down my face. This seems to pull Ryoma out of his rage and he takes a step backwards, letting me go.

"Sakuno…" he says, voice stunned. I quickly move past him and run out of the room, my heart breaking as all his words sink in. Five minutes later, I find myself standing in the middle of Summer's room, tears spilling down my face as I barely manage to tell her what happened. When I'm done, Summer shakes her head, a frown on her face.

"Oh Sakuno," she says sadly, wrapping her arms around me in a hug. My soft sobbing echoes loudly through the silent room. Summer stares at the door, a calculating look on her face.

When Sakuno finally falls asleep, Summer gently removes herself and heads out of the room, her face determined. When she reaches Ryoma's room, she shoves the door open, not even waiting for Ryoma to say anything.

"What the hell did you do to Sakuno?" she asks, blue eyes daring him to try and bullshit her.

"It was her fault. She tried to run away," he doesn't look at her. "If she ran away, she could have gotten hurt. It's not safe for her out there."

"So you're mad at her for running away because you actually care about her and not because she was disobedient?" Summer clarifies, her eyebrow twitching. He nods his head slowly, bringing his gaze to meet hers.

"So how come, instead of telling her that, you insulted her?" she glares, her arms crossed. "How could you be so mean to Sakuno? What did she really do to you except be perfectly kind and obedient towards you? You don't deserve her friendship, you bastard."

"I didn't mean to. I just got mad and I didn't know what I was saying," he runs his hands through his hair.

Rolling her eyes, Summer muttered, "men," before focusing her eyes on him. "Well next time you get mad, you might want to consider thinking before you speak. For someone whose so intelligent, you can really be an idiot." With that, she turned to leave. "You better apologize Ryoma Echizen!" she calls over her shoulder.

He hadn't meant to hurt he. He really hadn't. It was just when Momoshiro told him she tried to run away, a blind rage overtook him. A million different possibilities of what could happen to her ran through his head and he just lost it. Rubbing his face, he groans as he recall his earlier words. He didn't mean any of what he said to her. She'll forgive him, right? Well, there's only one way to find out. Minutes later, he finds Sakuno sitting upright on Summer's bed, eyes downcast while her hands play with the frayed edge of the blue blanket. He observes her silently for a moment, before her head shoots up. He holds back a wince at the wounded, terrified look in her eyes. He decides then that he never wants to be the cause of that look again.

Sakuno's POV:

My heart rate speeds up the moment I hear Ryoma walk into the room. I search for something to say while he makes his way over to me, sitting next to me on the bed. Before I could find something, anything, to say, he beats me to it.

"Listen, Sakuno I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of the things I said to you. The truth is, the idea of you running away made me upset because…. It's dangerous out there. You're a young, pretty, all-alone girl who could easily be taken advantage of in town. You're safe here," he says looking away from me. His low, soft tone is not what I was expecting at all. I'm too shocked by his words (did he call me _pretty?) _to react. Does he really… care about me? Even a little bit? "What you did was stupid and reckless. You could of gotten hurt or something worst could have happened," he says looking at me. I want to open my mouth and explain that I know that what I did wasn't smart but at the time... the idea of freedom for once in my life was just too strong to ignore.

"You'll have to be punished," his tone is final. I miss the way his face becomes alarmed when tears rush to my face.

"Please don't hit me! I beg your forgiveness," I say, jumping up to bow low to the ground. Ryoma gently picks me up and carries me bridal style all the way back to our room. If I wasn't so worried about my punishment, I probably would have blushed. When he places me gently on the bed, it's all I can do not to shout out my confusion at his actions.

As for Ryoma, he can't believe she thinks he is going to hurt her. Did he really scare her that much? He frowns down at her, pondering over her actions. "What are you… doing?" I finally ask.

"You need rest," he says, after a moment. "As for your punishment, you're not allowed to go outside this house for a month with or without an escort" he says turning away from her.

"You're… not going to hit me?" I ask incredulously. He stops to look back at me, a rare smile on his face.

"Sakuno, no matter what you do, I would never intentionally hurt you. I will never physically harm you in any way. I care about you Sakuno. You're my friend and I protect the people I care about, not hurt them" he says, before leaving me alone to my spinning thoughts. He's not going to hurt me? And he cares about me? He forgives me for trying to run away? I lay down on the bed, shutting my eyes, deciding that I could think about it more in the morning. For now, I'm exhausted. The events of today play in my head like a movie and for all the commotion, everything is okay in the end. And I'll gain Ryoma's trust back somehow, someway.

And what Sakuno didn't know was that Ryoma was thinking the same thing about her right then, too. Both of them went to sleep that night determined to gain each other's trust back. Too bad they didn't know that they already had it.

End of Chapter

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**Author's Note: **Hope you liked the chapter! I'll be editing the rest of the chapters within the next few weeks. Reviews are greatly appreciated :)


	6. Chapter 6: The Guests

My Slave

Author's Note: I'm back!! I'm sorry I took so long to update. I just started school again so I was busy for a while. Anyway thanks SOOO much to these people for reviewing the last chapter: **FC, sasusaku4life, Olivine –** Thanks again for being my 100th review!! And as for what you said, something will happen in this chapter to fix it,** chriss101, catseye007 –** As for when Ryoma will make his move… you'll see, **nikaella –** Wow, your schoolmate printed it out? I am… flattered. I didn't think it was that school. Whoever your schoolmate is, I'm glad they like it, thanks again**, sakura-fai –** As for if Sakuno would be free well you just have to wait and see,** Kusayor, lil.ramen.lover, CKMo – **Ugh I know I need to work on the grammer. I love to write but grammar has always been my worst subject,** Egyptianlover –** Thanks for pointing out my mistake and as for why she ran away, that will be explained more in this chapter**, animeandmangaaddict, cute-azn-angel, mariku-chan12, mariemaiai, SpillietehInkie, tiang-mei.na, 'kawaiihanah – **Are there going to be love triangles? Hmmm… you just have to wait and fins out**, Ducky** – I finally remembered to call you Ducky!! Hehe. Well, thanks again,** and **finally **Numbeh 013. **Anyway, thanks sooo much to all of those people for reviewing. Your reviews mean a lot to me. I got 20 reviews!! I still can't believe that. This is definitely my best story, so thanks to you guys for making it the best! Now, on with the story!

**Warning:** The rating may go up for this chapter because of some violence. It all depends on what you think of it. There is only a little violence and it is only for this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own The Prince of Tennis!!

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Chapter 6: The Guests 

_Last Chapter: __Today had been a scary day but… everything was okay in the end. And she would gain Ryoma's trust back somehow, someway. And what she didn't know was Ryoma was thinking the same thing about her right then, too. Both of them were going to gain each other's trust back. Too bad they didn't know that they both already had it._

About a week had gone by. Because of her punishment, Sakuno wasn't allowed to go outside and she really missed it but it was much better then getting beaten. And she had runaway. She was surprised Ryoma hadn't done anything worse to her. Then again, he did say he cared about her. As she remembered this, a small smile came to her lips. She opened the door to Ryoma, and her, room and smiled when she saw Ryoma sitting on their bed a bored expression on his face.

"Your done with your chores all ready?" he asked his eyes boring into her own. Sakuno nodded. "I didn't have much today and Summer helped me, too" she said. Ryoma nodded. Sakuno walked over to the window and stared outside. She has a great view of the backyard from there. She sighed. It was such a beautiful day today. She really, really wanted to go outside. "What is it?" Ryoma asked as she sat down next to him.

"Nothing" she lied while looking down. Ryoma frowned and pulled her face up.

"You're lying," he said simply. Sakuno turned away before she spoke.

"It's just that today is such a nice day and I really, really want to go outside while the weather is so nice," Sakuno said while turning to look at Ryoma with pleading eyes. Now Ryoma sighed.

"Sakuno, I want to let you go outside but you are on punishment. You know that" he said. He really didn't like keeping her cooped up in the house but she had tried to runaway. She could have gotten seriously hurt. She needed to be punished so she could see her mistake. Honestly, Ryoma didn't like doing this.

"Yes, master" Sakuno mumbled while looking down. She didn't like to be reminded about what she had tried to do about a week ago.

"Sakuno, I don't like doing this. But it's for your own good" Ryoma said. "And what did I say about calling me master? You know I don't like it when you call me that" he said annoyed. Sakuno smiled at this. She knew he hated when she called him that.

"Okay… master" she said while giggling. Ryoma smiled slightly at this. He shook his head as he moved to get off the bed. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he stopped. He reached out and grabbed Sakuno's right wrist. He stared at it with a shocked expression on his face. Her wrist had a big, purple-blue bruise on it that looked like someone had grabbed her, like he did when he was mad… Ryoma's eyes widened in realization.

"Did I do this?" he demanded. Sakuno looked away, not wanting to answer. "Sakuno…" he said in a warning tone.

"Yes, but you didn't mean to. You were just mad" Sakuno said quietly. Ryoma looked mad when she said that. "It's okay. I have a lot worse" Sakuno said quickly trying to make him see it was fine. But what she said only seemed to make him madder. He calmed down and gently rubbed his fingers over her wrist, sending shivers down her spine.

"I'm sorry," he muttered while looking at her wrist. "I hurt you. I am really, really sorry Sakuno. I promised to never hurt you and look what I did," he said in a voice that told her he was disgusted with himself. "Forgive me?" he asked looking up.

"There's nothing to forgive" Sakuno said quietly while smiling at him and she placed her other hand over his own. Ryoma managed to give a small smile back. The two stayed like that for a few minutes before Ryoma finally stood up.

"In about an hour, some guest will be coming here to discuss some things with me. My dad wants me to handle it since some day I have to take over" Ryoma said while turning around so his back faced Sakuno. "As my personal servant, you are to come with me. It's a rule but you won't have to do anything really" he said. He trued around and locked eyes with Sakuno. "Listen carefully to this, Sakuno" he said. "The guest that are coming, I don't like them at all. They will have their own servants with them and the way they treat them will be… different then the way I treat you. But there is nothing I can do for their slaves and when you see them, don't say anything in front of our guests. Okay?" Ryoma asked. Sakuno was confused but she nodded, nonetheless.

"I have to go do some things before they arrive so if you need help getting ready, I'm sure Summer is around somewhere" Ryoma said. Sakuno nodded and left to go get ready.

**Later…**

Sakuno sighed deeply. She was waiting in the living room with Ryoma for the guests to arrive. They were supposed to be here at any minute. Ryoma was wearing a normal short-sleeved shirt, jeans, and his signature cap. As for Sakuno, she was wearing a pair of tight black denim Capri's with a plain tight green tan top that brought out her eyes. Her long hair was down and she no makeup except for some green eye shadow on. It was a simple, cute outfit perfect for this. Besides, she was going as Ryoma's servant so she didn't want to dress too nice. She knew that most personal servants wouldn't dress as nice as she normally did. Se looked up when she heard the door being opened. Two young men, older then Ryoma, came in. They were both dressed well and handsome. 2 young girls a little older then Sakuno followed them.

According to Ryoma, they were about 17 and the girls were about 16. The boys were both handsome, one with blonde hair and brown eyes and another with blue eyes and brown hair. They had an almost evil look on their faces. In Sakuno's opinion, Ryoma was much, much hotter then both of them. They men sat down across the table from Ryoma and Sakuno. The girls following them sat down on the floor next to them with their heads bowed.

"This is Dai Toishi and Haru Wakainto" Ryoma said motioning to the two males. "And this is Sakuno, my new personal servant" Ryoma said. Sakuno bowed quickly. The one named Haru grinned at her.

"Wow, she is quite the looker. You sure are lucky Ryoma," he said while eyeing her with lust. Sakuno looked away. "These are our personal servants, Keiko and Aya," he added. The girls said nothing. Dai turned to his servant Keiko, a pretty girl with long back hair and big blue eyes. "Get under the table" he said to her. Keiko's eyes widened in fear. "He-here?" she asked. Dai smirked evilly and nodded. "No, I-I re-refuse to do it he-ree" she stuttered out. Dai's eyes filled with anger and he slapped Keikio hard across the face sending her flying backward. Then he proceeded to kick her hard in the stomach. Finally, he grabbed her roughly by her hair and said, "Now are you going to listen or do I have to do that again?"

Keiko nodded and quickly crawled under the table. Meanwhile, Sakuno watched this with wide eyes. She looked toward Ryoma whose face was emotionless. So this is what he meant earlier.

_Flashback:_

_"Listen carefully to this, Sakuno" he said. "The guest that are coming, I don't like them at all. They will have their own servants with them and the way they treat them will be… different then the way I treat you. But there is nothing I can do for their slaves and when you see them, don't say anything in front of our guests. Okay?" Ryoma asked. Sakuno was confused but she nodded, nonetheless._

_End Flashback_

Sakuno couldn't believe they would treat someone that way. That poor girl Keiko. But why would she have to go under the table anyway? Unless… Sakuno gasped when she realized what that meant. She was young, but wasn't naive. When slave girls were told to go under the table it was so they could… _pleasure_ their masters. Sakuno felt sick at that thought. How embarrassing that must be for Keiko. And Dai just sat there like it was nothing. Sakuno frowned in anger but didn't say anything. She didn't want to embarrass or anger Ryoma, so she just sat there in silence. Ryoma and them were talking about some papers when Sakuno noticed Keiko come out from under the table. Her hair was completely messed up, her lips were sort of swollen and bruise, and a large red mark was on her face. She could tell Keiko was holding back tears.

Ryoma noticed this too and was disgusted by both what Haru and Dai were doing but there was nothing he could do. Finally, the meeting came to and end and they all stood up to leave. While Aya was standing up, she accidentally knocked into the pitcher of water spilling it on Ryoma. Haru glared at her and punched her hard in the stomach.

"How dare you, bitch!" he screamed. "Ryoma here was kind enough to let you sit in here, and look what you did!" he added. He was about to hit her again when Ryoma spoke up.

"That's enough. It's just water" he said.

"But my lord, she needs to be punished!" Haru protested and Dai nodded his head in agreement.

"How about you give her to me as punishment?" Ryoma said. "I'll even pay you for her" he added. Sakuno gasped at this. What was Ryoma saying?! Haru grinned evilly. "Oh, I see you want to punish her yourself. Well, how about you just take her as a gift, my lord?" Haru asked. Ryoma nodded. "I'll send her papers over later" Haru said. Aya was frozen in her spot, her eyes wide with fear. Ryoma escorted Haru and Dai out the door. Sakuno watched as Keiko shot Aya as sympathetic glances before walking out the door. Now, it was just Ryoma, Sakuno, and Aya in the room. Aya had log, flaming red hair and big blue eyes. She was quite pretty.

Ryoma sighed and looked over to Sakuno. "I'm glad that's over," he said. Sakuno nodded still unsure of what Ryoma was going to do with Aya. "I know you didn't like seeing that Sakuno, but there was nothing I could do" he said before turning to Aya. "I am not going to punish you," he said. "I just thought you should get away from that bastard. You are going to work here as a servant but first you need to go to the infirmary" Ryoma said. Aya slowly nodded.

"Momo" Ryoma called. Suddenly, Mom appeared a huge grin on his face.

"You wanted something, Echizen?" he asked. "This is Aya. She's new here. Take her to the infirmary" he said while walking away. Momo nodded and easily picked Aya up, who looked completely lost. Sakuno slowly followed Ryoma up stairs to their bedroom and quickly shut the door once they were inside. As soon as the door was shut, Sakuno burst out crying. She ran over and clung to Ryoma's shirt while crying hysterically. Ryoma froze and wrapped his arms around her. He wasn't sure how to comfort her but hugging her seemed like the best thing to do.

"Shhh…" he said trying to calm her down. He carried her to their bed. "What's wrong?" he asked after Sakuno had calmed down a bit.

"It's just… those poor girls!! How could they be treated like that? It's wrong!" Sakuno wailed. "I know" Ryoma sighed. "That's why I offered to take Aya. She'll be better off here" he said with a small smile. Sakuno looked up at him and quickly started crying again, confusing Ryoma. "What is it now?" he asked.

"I tried to runaway," Sakuno said. "And you… you… treated me so well. You were so nice and good to me and I ran away. You are probably the nicest master out there and defiantly the nicest master I've ever had. And I was so stupid!" Sakuno cried realizing how stupid running away really was for her. "If I ran away, that could have been me" she said. "And you didn't even hit me when I ran away. I shouldn't be so lucky. You shouldn't be so nice to me," Sakuno cried. "It's just that when I ran away, the idea of freedom was so strong. But I am so sorry!" Sakuno added. Ryoma frowned and gently pulled Sakuno's chin up to look her in the eye.

"Sakuno, that is in the past. And I understand why you ran away. Everybody wants freedom, it's human nature. And you aren't lucky to have me as a master. I am lucky to have you as a servant" Ryoma said. Sakuno blinked at this and slowly smiled. "Thank you for everything, Ryoma" she said while hugging him. Ryoma let her hug him and nodded at her words.

"I have to go see how Aya is doing," he said. "You are free to go," he added while walking out of the room. Sakuno wiped the tears off her face and made her way to Summer's room. Luckily, Summer was there reading a book. When she saw Sakuno, she smiled and put her book down. "Hello, Sakuno" she said while making room for Sakuno to sit on the bed. Sakuno shut the door and sat down next to Summer who had a curios look on her face.

"What's up with you?" she asked looking at Sakuno carefully. Sakuno gave her a sad smile and sighed.

"It's just that I realized something," she said. "What?" Summer asked. "I know it has to do with Ryoma so spill," she said.

"I am unconditionally in love with my master… Ryoma" Sakuno said for the first time out loud. Summer stared at her processing her words. Slowly she smiled and leaned over to hug Sakuno. "But he's my master and he only sees me as a friend. It would never work" Sakuno said a tear falling from her face. "It hurts," she whispered.

"I know, honey" Summer whispered while hugging Sakuno. "I know," she added. The 2 of them sat there, both of them wishing that Ryoma could like Sakuno, too.

**Meanwhile with Ryoma…**

Ryoma sighed deeply. He had just checked on Aya and was making his way back to their room. He smiled to himself at the thought of Sakuno. He cared a lot about Sakuno. It was different then how he cared about Summer, who was like his sister. He had never been interested in a girl before but… there was a first time for everything, right? After all, he was a 15-year-old boy who was going through puberty. Okay, he'll admit it. He likes Sakuno… as more then a friend, much more then a friend.

End of Chapter

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Author's Note: Augh that wasn't that good, was it? Well, this chapter was more an informative chapter. Sakuno is still a slave and I needed to show how some slaves were treated. Anyway, I will try and update sooner. Please, please, please review!! This is my best story and I want to keep it that way. So c'mon review!! I would love to know what you think. PLEASEEEEEEE REVIEW!! I hoped you liked this chapter. Bye for now! 

Writer4ever14 (sam)


	7. Chapter 7: New Friends

My Slave

Well, I finally got this chapter up!! I am telling you now, it's longer than usual and probably a bit boring, but it is an important filler chapter. Oh and I'm not sure how you spell Ann name's but I think they spell it An so that's how its spelled in this story.

Thanks to these people for reviewing chapter 6: **BlackDove of Blessings, Raika-chan -**sorry I took so long to update, I hope you still read this story**, darkheart1992, sakura-fai– **that's the hard part about new characters, you don't know who will like and hate them. I hope you still read this story anyway cause its not about them it's about Ryoma and Sakuno,** yumeniai, FC, lil.ramen.lover, FujixSaku0709 –** some of the other regulars will be showing up soon**, 'kawaiihanah – **I know Ryoma is a bit OC but this was the first Prince of Tennis fic I ever did so I am new at writing him but the next Prince of Tennis story I write, I am going to work on that,** cute-azn-angel, michiyo drops, and kittygoesmeow.** Wow, 12 of you reviewed the author's note I put up before this chapter so now I am going to thank those people as well: **drearymoments – **thanks for putting me on your favorites list ;),** SpillietehInkie, xnarutoxrocksx, KoolKittyKat256, luvnstuff04, tiang-mei.na, FujixSaku0709 – **there is NO way I am abandoning this story!!**, Olivine –** you are right about what you said and sometimes I just tend to forget that fanfics are just fanfics, so thanks for reminding me,** animeandmangaaddict, fire19, oreocat101 – **The book Deenie, huh? I am going to try and read that, thanks**, and sakura-fai.** Now, I hope you like this chapter!!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own The Prince of Tennis!!

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Chapter 7: New Friends

_Last Chapter: __Ryoma sighed deeply. He had just checked on Aya and was making his way back to their room. He smiled to himself at the thought of Sakuno. He cared a lot about Sakuno. It was different then how he cared about Summer, who was like his sister. He had never been interested in a girl before but… there was a first time for everything, right? After all, he was a 15-year-old boy who was going through puberty. Okay, he'll admit it. He likes Sakuno… as more then a friend, much more then a friend._

Sakuno quickly dressed herself before waking Ryoma up. She really wanted to visit Aya in the infirmary but unfortunately, she couldn't. She had her morning chores to do and she had basically gotten yesterday off, so she wasn't going to get today off as well. Ryoma groggily opened his eyes and glared at the light coming from his window. Honestly, he wasn't a morning person at all. Sakuno giggled softly at the look on his face when he first woke up which caused Ryoma to turn his head towards her. His face softened at the sight of the happy Sakuno in front of him, but she quickly stopped her laughing though, and returned to her chores, Aya still on her mind. Ryoma watched as she busied herself around the room, the sheets slipping off to reveal a little bit more of his naked chest. It had been hot out lately, which resulted in him sleeping only in his boxers. Of course, since he had gone to sleep after Sakuno was already asleep last night, Sakuno was unaware of this, so when she turned to face Ryoma….

She jumped in surprise at the sight of his chest, which she was pretty sure had a 6-pack, and turned around immediately. Ryoma smirked at her reaction, and laughed (mentally, of course) at it. It was fun riling her up.

"You probably want to visit Aya, am I correct?" he asked ignoring the fact that she was still turned away and blushing widely. Sakuno slowly turned towards him and nodded, "Yes, I would like too."

Ryoma waved his hand as he said, "Then go ahead. I'll do your morning chores this morning. I can handle it for once by myself" he said. Sakuno could tell he was being serious and that it was no big deal, so she grinned happily.

Suddenly, Ryoma felt arms around his neck and felt someone hugging him tightly. He looked down to see Sakuno hugging him with her face buried in his chest.

"Thank you" she said, "for letting me visit her." With that, she kissed him on the cheek and quickly exited their bedroom. Ryoma stared at the door she had left from even after she was gone. His eyes were wide and when he finally got over the shock a small smile was on his face and he muttered, "No Sakuno, thank you."

Meanwhile with Sakuno….

Sakuno quietly opened the door to the infirmary where Aya should be. It was spring and warm outside, so Sakuno was wearing light denim Capri's. They were simple plain, stretch denim Capri's with no design on them. But instead of being blue like regular jeans, they were a bright lime green color. The lime green matched the green butterfly in her t-shirt. Her T-Shirt was a tight, white T-Shirt that had a huge green butterfly in the center of it. That was it. It was a simple, kind of boring outfit but then again, it's not like she was going anywhere today. Honestly, she was still kind of shocked that she had built up the courage to hug Ryoma-kun like that. It was so unlike her. Aya looked up as soon as she heard sound, her eyes full of evident fear. As soon as she saw who it was, the fear went away and was replaced with a happier look, which caused Sakuno to smile. Still, she was wondering what had caused the fear that was there in the first place.

Aya, Sakuno noticed, was beautiful. She had the kind of body that most men lusted after, with curves n all the right places. She was skinny but not too skinny. She had normal, tan colored skin and big, bright blue eyes. Her hair was long and straight, falling almost to her waist. Her hair was a stunning bright red color that stood out against the white of the pillows. Her clothes were old and torn but Aya still looked beautiful in them. Sakuno couldn't help but be a bit envious because Aya, although only a little bit older then her, had the body of a full grown woman while she herself still looked liked a little girl, in her opinion anyway.

"You are the master's personal slave, correct?" Aya asked in a quiet musical voice. Sakuno nodded and held out her hand.

"I am Sakuno," she said with a smile. Ata smiled back and held out her own hand.

"I'm sure you already know who I am, but I'm Aya," she said with her own grin. It was then that Sakuno decided she was going to like Aya. The two talked for a while, about things like their past, likes, dislikes, and all of that. Finally, they got to the most important topic: Ryoma.

"So, what is our master like?" Aya asked suddenly looking away, the fear evident in her eyes again. "I have heard that he is very cruel and terrible to slaves. I just hope he's not worse then my old aster. You're his personal slave. How bad is he really? Does he beat his slaves constantly? Has he ever forced you to sle-

"NO!" Sakuno shouted once she realized where Aya was going with this. She blushed crimson as she said in a quieter, more Sakuno-like voice, "Actually, he has been nothing but kind to me since I've been here. He lets me sleep in his room, he gives me time off, I am well taken care off, he talks to-

"Like a dog?" Aya cut her off, startling her.

"Wha… what do you mean?" Sakuno asked confused. Aya rolled her big blue eyes.

"So, he treats you like a dog? A pet? You know, he gives you food and nice things, seems to enjoy your company. But you're still under his command? Just like… I dunno, a dog?" Aya asked sarcastically. Sakuno glared at her, trying her best to ignore the truth in what she was saying.

"No, not like a pet. He treats me like a human being, a friend and talks to me like one" she all but shouted. Aya reached out and grabbed her hand her eyes softening.

"Sakuno, look I am sorry for talking like that to you. It's just you are still young and innocent while I am a bit older. I know more then you do and trust me, you are nothing more to him then a dog. Yes, he treats you well but not because he likes you. I like you Sakuno and I tell you this only to warn you," she said softly. Okay, now Sakuno was rethinking the whole Aya as a good friend thing.

"Your wrong" Sakuno whispered harshly but softly. She pulled away from her and Aya glared at her.

"Believe what you will. But trust me I am right about this. Our master" she sneered, "Is nothing but an evil, cold bastard who cares nothing for anyone but him-

"ENOUGH!" Sakuno finally yelled. "Yes, he is my master and yes I am defending him. But I am defending him because he is my friend as well as my master and you are wrong about him. So if you think I am going to let you sit by and insult him for even just one more minute your wrong!" Both Aya and Sakuno eyes widened at her outburst. Neither of them expected it, honestly.

"That was unexpected" a velvety smooth voice was heard from behind them. Both girls froze as they recognized the voice: Ryoma's. Sakuno turned to stare in shock at Ryoma who slowly walked in the room and sat down besides Sakuno slightly smiling at her. "That was quite the outburst," he said in his normal, cold voice although his eyes held a hint of amusement. Sakuno blushed and looked away.

"I didn't know you had it in you" he added before pausing. Sakuno froze, wondering if he was going to get mad at her for it. "Good" he finally said, shocking both girls in the room. "It's time you learned how to stand up for yourself," he added. Sakuno smiled and her eyes shone brightly at the sort-of compliment. Ryoma smiled slightly back at her. It was then Aya realized what was going on; Sakuno was in love… with their master. Ryoma turned to Aya his eyes once again cold as ice.

"As for you, as I said before, you will work here as a servant. I don't care about the nonsense you were speaking of before about me but if I was you, I would not be so quick to judge people," he said before getting up and turning to leave. "Sakuno, I will see you later at dinner" he added as he left the room.

"You love him," Aya stated as soon as he was gone in a quiet, almost sad voice. "That's why you are so defensive about him. That happened to me once too, you know. I was about your age 14 (she's 16 now) and I fell in love with my master. He was kind, nice, hot, and to me, perfect," she said looking at her hands as she spoke.

"What happened?" Sakuno asked curiously temporarily forgetting her hatred towards this girl.

"Well, he told me he 'loved me', then he slept with me, and after that, he sold me and told me he never wanted to see me again" she spoke in a bitter, painful voice. Sakuno immediately found herself hugging the girl tears coming to her eyes.

"I am so sorry. That's why you are so convinced that Ryoma-kun is bad. I can't believe someone would do something liken that to you. But Ryoma is different, I know he is" Sakuno spoke softly. For a while, neither of them said anything.

"For your sake, I hope you are right" Aya said softly, really hoping that her new friend was right.

Later….

Aya had apologized after that to Sakuno, and with that Sakuno left the infirmary. Honestly, she wasn't sure what to call her and Aya but right now she had something more important to do. She had to find Ryoma. She followed the sound of voices until she was outside the living room. She took a deep breath and pushed opened the heavy door, hoping and expecting to see Ryoma. She was shocked to see not Ryoma, but Momshiro, Summer and… a girl. This girl had medium-length light brown hair and pale white skin. In her hair, were 2 pink barrettes. All three of them were talking and laughing when they all seemed to suddenly notice Sakuno, since they stopped talking and turned to look directly at her. Summer and Momshiro smiled at her and both ran to hug her at once.

"Sakuno-chan!" Momoshiro called while hugging Sakuno tightly and grinning at her happily. He squeezed tightly and Sakuno suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe. Before she even had a chance to say this, she felt Momshiro being pulled off her and when he was pulled away from her, she saw that the dark brown haired girl had pulled him off of her.

"Momoshiro-kun, you idiot! Are you _trying _to choke her?" the brown haired girl asked. Momshiro rubbed his head and muttered an, "I'm sorry, An-chan."

An, as Sakuno just found out her name was, turned to Sakuno and smiled.

"Hello, Sakuno-chan. I am An, a friend of Echizen's and all of them, and Momo's girlfriend," she said while holding out her hand, which Sakuno shook slowly. Momo had a girlfriend? Well, that was news to her. Summer came over and swung her arm around Sakuno's shoulder and turned to An with a, in Sakuno's opinion, suspicious grin on her face.

"This, as you know, is Sakuno. She's the girl I was telling you about" she said with a hint of mischief in her voice. An rose an eyebrow at this. Suddenly, a small mysterious smile appeared on her face.

"Ohhh… so this is the girl that managed to somehow managed to give the supposedly asexual Ryoma Echizen… a hard on" she said in a normal, bored tone with a hint of amusement in her voice. She said it so casual that Sakuno's face immediately turned crimson at this and Momshiro started coughing so hard he could not breathe. Both of them stared at An and Summer with completely surprised expressions.

"How come Echizen never told me that?!" Momoshiro suddenly yelled at Summer and An who were currently both smirking. Summer shrugged causally.

"Why don't you go ask him?" she said in an innocent voice. Momo blinked in surprise, before grinning and kissing An quickly on the lips.

"See you guys later!" he called as he ran out of the room calling Echizen's name loudly. Soon after the girls heard a loud crash, which caused them to look at each other, then… shrug. Honestly, none of them wanted to know what the crash was.

"You know that Echizen is going to hate you for telling him that, right?" An asked. Summer grinned and shrugged.

"He'll get over it… eventually. Now, Sakuno…. Hey Sakuno, are you okay?" Summer asked suddenly concerned. Sakuno's eyes expression looked normal, but her face was pale, her body was frozen. She still seemed to be in complete shock at what Ann had said. Did she really cause Ryoma-kun to… to….

"I'm fine," she said smiling and shaking her head as the shock wore off.

"Well, now that that's said, let's go to my room so we can talk" An said while walking away, with Summer following. "Coming Sakuno?" she called over her shoulder. Sakuno smiled and ran to catch up with them. This time, she was positive that she and Ann were going to be friends.

With Ryoma….

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME MOMO-SEMPAI!!!" Ryoma yelled as he swiftly ran away from Momo and jumped to avoid him. Ryoma had always been described as an emotionless person and few people could make him mad. He got annoyed easily but he barely ever actually got… angry. And right now, he still wasn't angry. But he was furious. A murderous rage seemed to be emitting from him and his eyes were set in an evil looking glare. He stopped suddenly and turned to glare at Momo, who suddenly stopped as well and seemed to shrink under Ryoma's glare. Ryoma was wondering how the hell he wound up in this situation.

_Flashbacks to just moments before this happened:_

_Ryoma jumped and slammed the tennis ball into the ground, and watched as he served the ball hard into the wall. He had just come back from his day with his father and like he always did after spending the day with his dad, he was playing tennis to calm down and cool off. He set the ball up and moved into the correct position, swung his racket, and was about to hit it-_

_"ECHIZEN!" he heard Momo yell suddenly. He jumped slightly from the shock causing him to miss the ball and fall flat on his face, which hurt. A lot. Ryoma glared at Momo immediately as he rubbed the new bruise on his head._

_"What – Do –You-want?" he managed to say. Momo grinned and swung his arms over his shoulder rubbing his head brotherly._

_"I think it's time me and you talked about the birds and the bees Echizen. You see, Summer told me how…" he bent down to whisper the rest in his ear, "how you are so hot for a little brown-haired brown-eyed girl that she gave you your first, well, I guess you would say your first hard on." Ryoma's eyes widened at this and his mouth dropped opened._

_"You…. Y- I….- and…" for the first time in a long time, Ryoma did not know what to say. So instead of talking, he settled for glaring angrily at Momo and started to stalk towards him, which caused Momo to run away._

_End of Flashback_

And that leads us to the back to the present. Ryoma continued to glare at Momo but before he could even say anything, Sakuno, Summer, and Ann walked into the courts. Both Momo and he saw them out of the corner of their eyes, and when they did, Ryoma stood up and his face went back to his usual cold, emotionless expression. All three of the girls smiled at the boys and said hello to Ryoma who nodded in response. Sakuno glanced over to Momoshiro and gasped.

"Are you alright Momo-sempai?" she asked. Momoshiro was sitting on the ground, his face red, and he was taking deep breaths. He glanced at Ryoma quickly before answering.

"I'm fine!" he said with a laugh as he stood up.

"Well, are you ready to go to town with me and Summer?" Ann asked. Momo nodded and quickly grabbed Ann's hand holding it in his own.

"You are welcome to come to Sakuno if you-

"No, she can not go with you" Ryoma interrupted before Ann could even finish what she was saying. "She can not go because she is still on punishment. In fact, she is not even supposed to be out here" Ryoma added, while crossing his arms over his chest. Ann was about to protest, but Summer beat her to it.

"C'mon, Ryoma! It's only one night and we promise to have her back soon! And if you are worried about her safety, we will watch out for her at all time!" Summer pleaded staring at Ryoma with sad puppy eyes. Ryoma simple shook his head.

"No" he said sternly. Momo opened his mouth to speak, but Ryoma glared at him and cut him off.

"No! I am not going to change my mind so all of you can go now! Sakuno, follow me" Ryoma said as he turned around angrily and started walking away. Ann shot Summer a sympathetic glance as Sakuno ran to follow Ryoma her head down. She had not said a word during the whole exchange and now Ryoma was probably mad at her. She sighed to herself hoping he wasn't too mad. They walked in silence up to their room and once they got there, Sakuno quietly followed him and shut the door quickly. Ryoma sat down on the bed, and sighed deeply. He leaned back and rested his back against the bed, closing his eyes. But, after only a few seconds, his eyes opened again to look at Sakuno who was still standing near the door looking away from him.

"Look, Sakuno," he began knowing too well was this was about, "I could not let you go because you are on punishment. I know that it really isn't a big deal, but I am sticking to this," he said. Sakuno finally looked up, her wet making him cringe. Had he made her cry?

"I understand, Ryoma-kun. But… your not mad at me, either?" she asked as she sat down on the bed next to him. He stared at her in disbelief.

_She thinks I am mad at her because of that? And she's upset not because I didn't let her go but because she thinks I'm mad at her? _He mentally shook his head before offering her a very small smile.

"No I am not mad at you. You are not mad at me either, right?" he asked. Now, Sakuno blinked in disbelief before a slow smile spread on her face. She reached out and took his hand in her own.

"No, I am not" she said softly. The two stared at each other directly, there eyes never leaving each other's. Unconsciously, they both found themselves leaning closer and closer towards each other. Sakuno noticed she didn't even blush even though his face was only mere inches away from hers. She felt his hot breathe on her face and it made her close her eyes. As for him, as he looked at her so closely he noticed how… amazing she looked, no like he didn't already think that. He leaned down towards her and caught her chin in his hand, causing her to blink open her eyes. He raised her face so it was right next to him. Damn, he had never felt this way before. The desire and longing he felt… he had never felt it before. He could feel blood rush south but he ignored that for now. The air was suddenly tense and suffocating to both of them, something neither of them had ever felt before. The two stared at each other before something happened that neither of them expected.

"I'm sorry" Ryoma whispered before pulling away and laying down on the bed. Sakuno watched him, confusion evident in her brown eyes. Sorry… for what? She quietly laid down on the bed next to him her thoughts swirling.

_Oh… my… god. We were so close, close enough to… to… kiss. Was he about to kiss me? And what is he sorry for? I am so confused!_

"Good-night Sakuno" he murmured as he closed his eyes. His thoughts drifted to what had just happened. Then, his thoughts drifted back to earlier that day. When he was out with his dad, he had gone off for a while and found the perfect birthday gift for Sakuno, who he knew had a birthday coming up (courtesy of Ann and Summer who told him this morning). He hoped she would like it. Finally, the two fell asleep both of their thoughts on what had just happened. Ryoma hated to admit it but he knew…. That was starting to think of Sakuno as way more than a friend.

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Author's Note: Well, here it is! I promise the next chapter's update will be a lot sooner then this one was. Okay, I know this chapter was long and probably boring… but this as I said earlier, is a filler chapter, an important filler, but a filler nonetheless. Now, I know a bunch of you reviewed the author's note I had up before this so you can't review this. To those people, thanks for reviewing ;). Now, I know this was not really that great of a chapter (I promise A LOT more will happen in the next one) but I really, really would love to get up to 150 reviews. I am at 131 so I would need to get at least 19 reviews to meet my goal. But, 76 (yeahh, this story have 76 alerts!) people have this story on their alert list so even though 12 or so can't review this, over 50 others can. So, please, please PLEASE REVIEW!!! I really, want to get up to 150 reviews. I have never gotten that many before. Please review and tell me what you think. So, I hope you like it and please REVIEW!!

Writer4ever14 (sam)


	8. Chapter 8: A Visit from the Past

My Slave 

Author's Note: Okay I have some things to say. 1st I am SO sorry for not updating in so long!! My family had had A LOT of problems lately and I have just been dealing with a lot of stress lately. But I promise the next chapter will be out a lot quicker next time. And this new chapter is my longest chapter yet! 2nd from now on I will make sure to send out a personal review reply to everyone who reviews to save room. I stared doing that the last chapter. Also please read the notice below:

**IMPORTANT READ: **I am looking for a beta reader for this story so if anyone is interested, please let me know. You must, of course, be a regular reader of this story and you must be decent in grammar, spelling, and English overall. I would prefer if you were a signed up beta reader as well but you don't have to be. Please let me know if you are interested or want to know more.

Thanks to these people for reviewing the last chapter: **Otakugal, ****Natsume0Mikan****, leo-red, howalon88, wakamama, rosered, ****MoonlightShadowMaiden****ryokohina4****Igumi Sekamri****alchemistgrl09****bambichic****Elizabeth Eclair Rose****anime-katelynn-lover****krystalhatake****XxSasXSakXx****poems2songs****Yula089****Egyptianlover****, FC, ****'kawaiihanah****mariku-chan12****Kikumaru1128****mangamanic1234****cute-azn-angel****lil.ramen.lover****drearymoments****SpillietehInkie****xnarutoxrocksx****KoolKittyKat256****BLUEMENTRIT****tiang-mei.na****FujixSaku0709****Olivine****animeandmangaaddict****fire19****oreocat101**and last but not least**, sakura-fai. **That's 37 reviews, a new record for me!! Thanks to all of you guys for reviewing. I love you guys!! Finally, here is the next chapter of _My Slave. _It is longer than usual and a lot happens in it, but I'm not sure how good it is. Hope you enjoy it!!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own The Prince of Tennis!!

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Chapter 8: A Visit from the Past… and more

_Last_ _Chapter: __When he was out with his dad, he had gone off for a while and found the perfect birthday gift for Sakuno, who he knew had a birthday coming up (courtesy of Ann and Summer who told him this morning). He hoped she would like it. Finally, the two fell asleep both of their thoughts on what had just happened. Ryoma hated to admit it but he knew…. That was starting to think of Sakuno as way more than a friend._

"Do you need help?" Ryoma asked as he glanced at Sakuno who was struggling with reaching something on a higher shelf. It was in the afternoon, and to Ryoma's relief, Sakuno had not asked him what he had been sorry about the night before. Honestly he did not know why he had said he was sorry; it just kind of slipped out. When they had first woken up, it had been really awkward and Sakuno had rushed out of their room. That was a few hours earlier, and he had decided to find her and make sure everything between them was the same. He had found her here, in the kitchen trying to reach a plate on a shelf much too high for her. She was sitting on top of the counter, struggling to reach it. She was too busy too hear Ryoma who was staring at her from the doorway. As Sakuno reached higher and higher up, he noticed how her short, black denim skirt started to ride up. His face turned slightly red as he watched it slowly rise high and high until-

CRASH! Sakuno dropped the plate that was in her hand as it slipped out of her hand. As she reached for the plate (and missed) her leg slipped out from under her and she began to slip of the countertop. She tried to grab onto something to prevent from falling but it was too late. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact. It never came. Instead she felt herself land in…. in someone's arms?! _What the fuck, _she thought not even realizing she actually cursed for once. She blinked opened her eyes and stared at the face before her in confusion and shock.

"Ry-Ryoma? She asked confused (A/N: Bet you saw that coming).

"You really need to be more careful. What if I hadn't been here?" he asked sternly as he looked down at her. She stared at him, the confused look still on her face.

"Where did you come from?" she asked ignoring his question. Had he been there the whole time she was in the kitchen? Or had he heard her drop the stupid plate? Or-

"I had been looking for you and when I entered this room, I saw you falling so I ran to catch you," he explained interrupting her thoughts. Of course he didn't mention how he had been staring at her from the doorway before that. Besides, it wasn't like he was really staring. He was just looking directly at her for a while never taking his eyes off of her… crap. He had been staring at her. He sighed in relief when he realized she had not caught him. Now t_hat _would have been awkward. He also ignored the fact that it felt so good to hold her in his arms with his arms supporting her legs and her hands wrapped around his neck. Her face was buried in his chest and when she realized this, she had to fight to hold down a blush. He gently let her down and when he did, their positions were not much better. Now they were standing up, with her hands still wrapped around his neck and his arms around her waist. There was no space between them and the atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense again.

They pulled apart quickly as a blush rose from Sakuno's face. She had to blush this time, and unfortunately to Ryoma her blush just made her look cuter and cuter. Her outfit didn't help. Besides the short black denim skirt, she wore a long-sleeved v-neck sweater that clung to her tightly. It showed off a little bit of cleavage and he could also see her black bra strap sticking out. The sweater was a solid blue color and made out of a soft, fuzzy material. Her hair was pulled back loosely into a messy bun, except for a few loose pieces that were sticking out of it. Overall, to him, she just looked so… cute. He groaned when he realized he had gotten… well… _hard_. It wasn't the first time she did that to him either.

"I'll see you later Sakuno" he managed to say as he uncomfortably walked away quickly. Sakuno stared at him as she walked away until she realized what she was doing. Then she turned around. She didn't want him to catch her staring. Who knows what he would say? Besides he never stares at her (A/N: Poor misguided Sakuno. She doesn't know how wrong she is). She smiled slightly as she walked away to continue with what she was doing before he interrupted her. Ryoma quickly made his way to his bedroom and lay down in his bed, willing his hard-on to go away. He tried picturing a bunch of things but nothing seemed to work. Images of Sakuno kept popping up in his head. Finally he pictured Momoshiro in a thong and it immediately went away.

"Well that worked," he murmured as he got up. He was probably scarred for life, but at least it worked. As he walked back downstairs, his thoughts went to Sakuno and what she was doing to him. Damn, what was he feeling towards her? This was all so new to him.

(Timeskip)

A few hours had passed and Sakuno has finished her chores. She had eaten dinner with Ann and Momoshiro because apparently Ryoma was in some important meeting with his father. She slowly opened the bedroom door and found Ryoma angrily glaring at her from his bed. Momoshiro had warned her that usually after meetings with his Father, Ryoma tended to be angry.

"Your late" he accused his eye narrowing. She flinched slightly, realizing Momoshiro had been right in what he said. Damn.

"I-I-I'm so-sorry" she stuttered out not really sure what to say. She was not used to Ryoma like this.

"Hn. Just finish your chores already" Ryoma demanded still glaring at poor Sakuno. After coming back from the meeting with his father, he was mad. Scratch that. He was furious. His father had told him about how he was going to have to become king soon, something Ryoma did not want to do. He wasn't ready for it. Besides being king meant he wouldn't be able to play tennis that much anymore (something he actually liked to do), he would probably have to get married to some bitch of a princess, and all the other stuff kings had to do. So he was not mad at Sakuno, he was just mad at the world. Well, it was more like he was mad at his fucking bastard of a father. At least that's how he thought of his father.

Sakuno carefully folded the clothes that were thrown on the bedroom floor trying hard to ignore his anger and the killing vibe that was coming from him.

"How was your meeting with your father?" she asked trying to stir up a conversation, as she picked up the empty glass that was sitting on top of the dresser.

"Shut the fuck up" he growled causing her to drop the glass in her hand. She stared at the glass she dropped in shock and at first, so did Ryoma. It hit the ground hard, breaking into a million little pieces.

"I am so sorry!" she said as she fell to the ground bowing. "I am so sorry Ryoma-sama!" she said, not wanting to anger him anymore. She cursed mentally, wishing she were not so clumsy. Then she probably would not be in this situation.

"Get up" he said as he grabbed her arm pulling her up. Now they were face-to-face and only inches apart. Normally she would like being this close to Ryoma but not this time. Something felt… off. She felt a few tears slip from her face as she looked away from him.

"Stop crying" he ordered, not wanting her to cry. When she didn't stop, the grip on her arm tightened painfully. Her crying angered him even more for some reason. Even though he was mad, he still didn't like seeing her cry. "I said stop," he said in a low, deadly voice that she didn't know he was capable of. Her eye widened as she tried to stop crying. He was really scaring her. SLAP! Before she knew what happened, she felt a stinging pain on her face.

Ryoma… hit her? She brought her hand to her cheek and stared in shock at his still raised hand. Her face was hurting terribly but that's not what she was paying attention to. He let go of her and backed away slowly looking from her face to his hand as if in shock.

"Sakuno…" he said letting his voice trail off, after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

She bowed again as she tried to hide her tears. "I deserved to be punished so feel free to do what me as you wish," she said in a low monotone voice. His eyes widened at this and he slowly pulled her up into a standing position.

She carefully avoided his eyes until it was too much for her. She glanced at his eyes and that was all it took for her to break as she remembered the angry, cold expression that had been there only a few moments ago. The last person who had looked at her that way was her old master and she did NOT want to remember him. Tears quickly started falling from her dark chocolate brown eyes and she ran out of the room, ignoring the shocked and slightly hurt expression on Ryoma's face. He stared at her as she ran out of the room, feeling lower then dirt and hating himself now more then ever.

Sakuno ran quickly and made her way to the front door that led to the huge, beautiful front yard. Because of her old punishment, she had not been outside in a long time. She ran a little bit further into the yard, and then she collapsed onto the ground. She pulled her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms tightly around them. She sobbed quietly, the shock finally starting to wear off of her. _Ryoma hit her._ It was not like she hadn't been hit before. She had quite a few masters before him, and a lot of them were content with taking out their anger on her. She still had a few scars on her back and legs from severe beatings she had received in the past. And although Ryoma's hit stung badly, that's not why it really bothered her. It was the look in his eyes when he hit her. His eyes were so mad, harsh, and cold, just likes the looks everybody used to give her before she came here. She had forgotten how much it hurt to be looked at like that, like you are trash, like you are worth nothing.

She heard footsteps coming towards her and quickly wiped her face with the back of her hand, not wanting anyone to see she had been crying. Suddenly, the footsteps stopped and she felt a presence in front of her. She slowly looked up and gasped when she saw who it was.

"Akio-kun?" she asked surprised, not believing he was who he was. Akio was an old friend of hers who she had not seen in over 3 years. They had been in the slave trade together for a while, but then he was sold off to somebody. She threw her arms around him in a hug, forgetting about the reason she was out here in the first place. (cough-Ryoma-cough) "Wha… what are you doing here? How did you-

"I can explain Sakuno-chan," he answered quietly while laughing slightly. He hugged her tightly before letting go of her. He was surprised to see his old friend Sakuno, but he had heard that she was sold here. He sat down besides her smiling quietly the whole time. "3 years ago I was sold here as a slave" he explained. "I have been here ever since then working in the gardens. I looked everywhere for you, but eventually after I couldn't find you, I had to give up," he added sadly. She looked at him, noticing how his sea blue eyes looked older and more worn out then they used to. His light brown bronze-colored hair was still short falling messily in his face. He was also a lot tanner then she remembered, probably from working in the sun.

She blushed when she realized he had seemed to grow out of his boyish self and his body had become more developed. His arms were muscular and he seemed slightly skinny. She laughed to herself when she realized he was finally taller then her; the last time she saw him he had been much shorter than her. He stilled seems to maintain that child-like innocence he always had. "Sakuno" he said breaking her out of her trance-like state. She blinked in surprise at the serious, emotionless look in his eyes, something she hadn't seen before in him. "I know this is very sudden but how would you like to get out of here?" he asked her.

"What?" she said wondering what exactly he meant by that. He couldn't get her free… could he?

"Look," he said, "In about twenty minutes I have to go town to pick up supplies like I do every Saturday. They trust me enough to allow me to go alone. Sometimes I go through the back door, where there are no guards. We could go through the back door and when we get to town I could bring you to a friend's house. And when Ryoma-sama or anyone asks were you are I'll just pretend that I have no clue or that you are hiding somewhere in the house. By the time they figure out your not here, you'll be-

"No" she suddenly said. He blinked in confusion and slowly understood what she meant.

"No? Sakuno, this will probably be your only chance ever at freedom. Why would you give that up? You need to stop this foolishness and just come-

"I said no," she said firmly looking away from him while standing up. "I am staying right here whether you like it or not. And nothing you can say can get me to change my mind."

"He hit you" Akio said quietly looking down at his hands. Her eye widened at those words and she brought her hand up to her cheek, which she could tell was swollen. "Why would you stay with someone who… who… hurt you?" he asked. She didn't reply. "Tell me why Sakuno. I am trying to understand you but I need you to help me out here." A few looses tears fell from her face. "Why Sak-

"Because I love him!" she yelled suddenly. His eyes widened in realization at her outburst. After that, neither of them said anything. "I'm sorry Akio but I need to be getting back to my master" she said as she slowly started to walk away, leaving behind Akio who just stared at her as walked away. He never felt more helpless then he did then while he watched the girl that had been like his sister walk away from him.

Ryoma's Pov (Point of View):

After Sakuno had left their room earlier, I had gone looking for her so I could apologize. I had not been surprised when I saw her in the front yard and I never felt more guilty then when I saw her sitting there crying. _I_ made _her_ cry. Sure I made other girls in the past cry but Sakuno... is different. Before I had a chance to call out to her Akio who I recognized as a gardener interrupted me. What is he doing talking to _my _Sakuno? I moved in closer and carefully eavesdropped on their conversation. My eyes widened when I heard Sakuno say she… lo-loved… me. I quietly turned around and made my way back to our bedroom, still processing what she just said.

Normal POV:

As she walked backed to their bedroom, Sakuno was still trying to figure out what she said as well. By the time she reached their room, Ryoma was already there sitting on the bed, She gulped and quietly shut the door and walked in, her head down.

"Come here" his quite voice commanded almost immediately. She quickly made her way over to him and sat down beside him. "I'm sorry," he said instantly causing her to jerk her heads up in surprise. Ryoma Echizen just apologized… to her? Now that was something she did not expect. His eyes were serious and emotionless but she could see regret in them as well. He gently placed his hand on her swollen cheek causing her to flinch involuntarily. She started to pull back, fear evident in her large brown eyes. Her eye watered slightly as she stood up again, her back facing him.

"Why did you… you… hit me?" she asked slowly not sure how to put what she wanted to know. "I know I am just a slave but I thought you were my friend as well. And you swore that you would never intentionally hurt me. Why Ryoma-san? Can you at least tell me why?" she asked her voice rising slowly. He could hear the anger in her voice starting to leak out. He stared at her, his eye emotionless. He quietly got up and stood behind her.

"Sakuno" he whispered, "I do not have a reason for hurting you except that I was mad. I really am sorry though" he finished. And with that, she broke down. Tears quickly cascaded down her face and he quickly wrapped his arms around her from behind. He sat down on the bed and pulled her into his lap. She held onto his shirt tightly as she cried. He gently rubbed her back while comforting her quietly.

"Sshh, it's okay Sakuno. Everything's fine" he said. He wasn't used to comforting anyone so he really wasn't sure what to say. Besides, he's a teenage guy; talking to people and comforting people are not his best aspects. The two of them sat there for a while with him holding onto her tightly as she cried for everything. She cried for herself, for all her old friends, for her family she never knew, for Keiko and Aya, and for her whole life. Finally she seemed to calm down and gently pushed herself away from Ryoma. They stared at each other directly until she looked away, not sure what she was supposed to do next.

"Do you forgive me… Sakuno?" he asked suddenly looking at the girl he had grown to really care about sitting in front of him. She smiled slightly and placed her hand over his.

"I will always forgive you Ryoma-kun," she said quietly. He bent down at gently placed a kiss on her forehead, his eyes closed. His arms stayed wrapped around her tightly as she glanced up at him confused. He pulled away quickly and let go of her. He turned around and went towards their bed.

"Well? Aren't you coming? It's time we get to bed," he said. She hid a smile and quickly got up following him to their bed. Tomorrow was her birthday. And although today had been a terrible day, she felt that she had gotten closer to Ryoma through it all. And his behavior had confused her. He acted so… nice. Unusually nice. Well she guessed she would just have to wait and see what happens next.

End of Chapter

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Author's Note: How was that? Was it terrible? Did you like it? PLEASEEE REVIEW!! I am dying to see how this chapter came out. Well, hope you liked it and I hope to hear your opinion on it. Just click the little purple button below to tell me your opinion . Bye for now!!

Writer4ever14 (sam)


	9. Chapter 9: A Birthday Surprise

My Slave

_Chapter 9: A Birthday Surprise_

Warning: _There is mention of some mature content in here, but nothing too wild really._

_Author's Note: This chapter is my first beta-ed chapter, so I would like to thank the wonderful and brillant Yula089. You can thank her for the correct grammer and all that. Thank you so much for being my beta! This chapter is dedicated to you! This chapter is by far my longest chapter so far so I hope you guys like it. I'm hoping to beat my review record, too. Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 8, as well. I love you guys! Now the moment we've all been waiting for, the next (important) chapter of **My Slave!!** _

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Sakuno groggily opened her eyes and slowly stretched her arms as she woke up. She sat up straight and her eyes widened when she saw that she was alone. Ryoma must have left the room before she got up. She blinked in confusion wondering why he hadn't woken her like usual.

"Happy birthday girl," a voice called from the door. She glanced up to see Summer leaning against the doorway, her arms crossed below her chest with an unusually big grin on her face. She wore simple, tight blue jeans and a white t-shirt. Sakuno grinned when she realized that today really was her birthday, January 14th, the day she turns 15. Giggling slightly at the thought of being 15, for some reason, Sakuno just felt…older. Technically she was also the same age as Ryoma, whose birthday wasn't for another month when he will be turning 16. As excited as she was about her birthday, she still didn't understand why Ryoma hadn't woken her up.

"Ryoma turned your alarm clock off, if you're wondering," Summer said suddenly, a sly look on her pale face.

"Why would he do that?" Sakuno asked blankly, causing Summer to roll her blue-ebony eyes and sigh.

"Duh, because it's your birthday. And I convinced him to give you the day off so we can PAR-TAY!" she said with a wink. Sakuno shook her head, but smiled slightly. So that was why, she laughed to herself when she thought about what Summer must have blackmailed her brother with to make him say yes. She would have to thank Ryoma when she saw him, which would hopefully be soon.

"I got to go now but make sure you are ready by 6 o' clock tonight for your birthday party. It is going to be the hottest party of the year!" she said, excitement glittering in her eyes, "It's casual but dress sexy as hell. There's going to be music, food, and everything".

Trying to take in what Summer was saying, Sakuno continued to stare at the girl. Summer turned around to leave but stopped, "Oh and Ryoma said to meet him in his study now. I'm leaving now because I know you don't want to make your lover wait," she teased before leaving a blushing Sakuno behind.

A little while later…

Sakuno quietly opened the door to Ryoma's study and walked in quickly. Ryoma was sitting behind a desk tossing a tennis ball up and down, a bored expression on his face. She giggled slightly at his look but stopped herself from bursting into laughter. Still, it got Ryoma's attention and he looked up sharply, his face alert. When he saw who it was, the prince's face relaxed and he allowed a small, rare smile to grace his lips.

"Sit down Sakuno," he said quickly. She smiled at him and obeyed.

"Thank you for giving me the day off for my birthday. I really appreciate it," she said before he had a chance to say anything else. He raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"It was nothing," he said simply.

"I'm sorry that Summer bothered you about it;" she said biting her lip quietly, not wanting him to be angry.

"True, Summer bothered me about it. But I was going to give you today off anyway," he said carelessly. She looked right up and a warm smile filled her face. "It's the least I could do since you put up with me all the time," he added smirking, his eyes filled with amusement.

"I enjoy putting up with you Ryoma-kun," she said. He smirked but she continued, "Well, most of the time I do anyway," she added, for once a smirk on _her_ face. He scowled at her before continuing.

"Anyway, the reason I called you in here is because of two things," he said, "One, you know about the party tonight right?" he asked. She nodded quickly. "Good," he said, "as for the other thing… I want you to make sure you meet back with me in our room after the party. In other words, no sleeping in Summer's room or anything tonight. Okay?" he asked his eyes serious. She nodded, a confused expression in her eyes.

"Why do I need to… if I may ask?"

He gave her a small smile, picked up a tennis ball, and began throwing it up and down again. For a few minutes, it was completely silent. Suddenly, the tennis ball fell into Sakuno's lap. She glanced down but before she could do anything she felt hot breath on her neck causing her to freeze. She looked up to see Ryoma right next to her, their faces only inches apart. He leaned closer and closer as she closed her eyes. She felt his hand on her lap gently moving.

"I'm going to give you your birthday present later," Ryoma whispered as he picked up the tennis ball and moved away from her. She opened her eyes and glanced at Ryoma who was busily filling out some paper on his desk. Shakily standing up and wondering what the hell just happened, Sakuno made her way out the door.

"See you la-later Ry-Ryoma-kun," she stuttered out. He nodded in her direction and she quickly left the room.

A few hours later… (A/N: PARTY TIME!!)

Sakuno bit her lip nervously as she looked in the mirror. The party was going to start soon and she was ready, except for the fact that she somehow felt out of place. Her eyes shifted to her hair, for once it felt wavy and tight curls formed at the tips. She winced as she remembered the pain Ann and Summer had put her through to get such a result. They had also completely gelled her bangs and fringe down which also hurt like hell! (A/N: Trust me, completely gelling down your bangs or huge amounts of hair, really hurts. I've done it.) She wore a bright red spaghetti strap dress that fell right above the knees. It was tight on the chest with a little knot in the center while the rest of the dress flowed out loosely. The dress had a deep v-neck plunge, which was why she was really thankful for the fact that there were such things as strapless bras.

_Knock-knock… _Sakuno glanced in the mirror one more time, noticing the red eye shadow and pink blush she had applied, before quickly going to open the door. There stood summer, grinning like crazy.

"Damn girl, you look hot!" she said, causing Sakuno to shake her head. Summer wore a little black dress that went just past her waist and had a halter style neck. It had a very deep v-neck, lower then her own Sakuno noted, and was clinging to her like a second skin. Her hair was down and straight with her bangs swept to the side.

"How can you wear something like that?" Sakuno asked, looking at the tight and short dress. "Won't the guys… well… stare?" she asked innocently but Summer only laughed, "Sakuno, the guys will always stare. Trust me; there will be PLENTY of guys looking at you tonight. The rule that you must remember and follow is this: they can look, but they can't touch. Well, for you, maybe Ryoma can touch," Summer teased as she turned around. Sakuno turned bright red and quickly followed Summer out of the room, trying to get the remark out of her head. They quickly made their way down the stairs to the main room where the party was going to be held.

"Is everyone in there already?" Sakuno asked when they got to the door. Summer nodded quickly and winked.

"Even Ryoma is in there," she said as she walked inside, pulling Sakuno with her. As soon as they walked inside the room, Sakuno swore she felt her jaw drop. The main room was HUGE but she had been in there before it didn't surprise her. The room had changed since she had last been in there though. There was loud music blasting from a stereo system (which looked conveniently new), the lights were dimmed almost all the way and colorful lights bounced off the walls. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see food set up on tables in the corner. There were all ready plenty of people there, dancing, eating, hanging out. She recognized about half of them, but didn't know the rest, most likely because that they were friends' with Ryoma's father. She had not had a birthday party in over 5 years; since she had been sold into the slave trade she had never had one. The few she had weren't really parties either.

"So did I do a good job? Let me tell you, making this room look like a miniature club was not easy," Summer said suddenly snapping Sakuno out of her daze. She smiled and allowed her bangs to brush over her eyes.

"Yeah, you did a great job Summer. Thank you," she said as she glanced back up at her friend, who in return offered her a small smile and just nodded.

"Thank you too Sakuno, for everything you've done for Ryoma," she whispered, her eyes suddenly turning deep and serious. Sakuno gave her a bewildered expression but before she could comment, Summer was gone and she was alone. She stood there wondering how Summer could disappear so quickly.

"Happy birthday Sakuno!" she heard suddenly before she felt arms wrap around her from behind her. She turned around to see Ann there, smiling happily in a simple little bright blue electric dress.

"Hey! Don't forget about me! Happy birthday Sakuno!" another voice said as she felt arms wrap around her other side. She looked to see Momoshiro hugging her too, happily grinning. She awkwardly hugged the both of them.

"Hey Sakuno-chan. Happy birthday," Fuji said as he walked up to them, surrounded by Tezuka and a few others. Suddenly all of her friends from the castle surrounded her and she found herself talking to a bunch of people at once. Before she knew it, her wrist was grabbed and she felt herself being dragged away from the small crowd of people that had crowded up. She looked up at her captor and was surprised to see it was Ryoma.

"Ryoma-kun?" she asked surprise evident in her voice. At first he didn't say anything; he just kept pulling her towards a corner of the room. Finally he stopped and let go of her hand, smiling slightly down at her.

"Happy birthday Sakuno," he said. She smiled warmly in return while blushing lightly when she realized how close they were to each other. She quickly looked away from him.

"Umm, thank you for allowing me to have this party, Ryoma. I know what a bother it must have-"

"There's nothing to thank me for," he interrupted, "Besides, I am going to guess you haven't had a birthday party in a long time?" he asked, well, more like stated with his famous smirk.

She blushed again and nodded quickly. "There's a lot of people here this evening so I'm not crazy about the idea of you walking around by yourself," he suddenly said with a frown. She opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off again. "So that's why I'm going to be your escort for the evening," he finished, smirking arrogantly. He watched as she immediately blushed and her eyes widened. She hated how easily she blushed around him, but it wasn't like she could do anything about it.

"You don't have to do that," Sakuno murmured after a while, doing her best to avoid looking him in the eye.

"I know," he replied, "but I want to". Before she could say anything he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her tightly into him. She gasped at the sudden movement and for the first time, realized how attractive he looked this evening. Ryoma wore plain black dress pants that fit him snugly at the waist, but like most, hung loose all around his legs. He wore a light blue button- up dress shirt that seemed to cling to his body and arms, the first few buttons were lazily undone, so you could see the hard lines at the top of his chest and the pale smooth skin around his collarbone. He wasn't wearing a jacket, but she had the feeling he had been wearing one at some point that evening. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows, exposing his forearms, which, from all of his tennis playing, were firm and muscular. But Sakuno found it strange how Ryoma wore his tie. Half of the men at the party weren't wearing any kinds of ties and the others wore them with fancy business suits. His tie hung rather low, falling below his neckline and was knotted in a small knot. Overall, he looked perfectly relaxed and comfortable standing there.

As he held her next to him her eyes glanced over to his open shirt, which revealed his smooth, hard chest underneath. Sakuno quickly looked away when she realized what she was doing. He pulled her with him and quickly started making his way through the crowd. Every now and then, they stopped to say hello to the few people Sakuno knew or to the people Ryoma knew. Whenever Ryoma introduced her to someone, she smiled shyly and got an urge to snuggle closer to his side. She noticed how he didn't introduce her as 'his personal slave' but as his 'friend'. Whether he did that to make her feel more comfortable or not, she was grateful for it. It was much easier to talk to people when they didn't know you were... a _slave_.

"I'll be right back," Ryoma muttered to her as he led her to a couch in a corner of the room. He gently sat her down, then quickly walked away blending into the crowd. She smiled softly as she watched him disappear into the mob of people, which seemed to constantly grow. She looked around for familiar faces and laughed to herself when she saw Fuji trying to get Tezuka to dance with some girl she didn't recognize. Tezuka's face was calm, but after being around Ryoma so long, she could tell he was starting to get irritated. Those two were very alike, Sakuno mused to herself. Speaking of the devil, she saw Ryoma making his way back towards her only this time there was another man with him. The two of them were deep in a conversation, so they didn't notice Sakuno's expression as they came closer. If Sakuno was paying close attention she would have seen the frown on Ryoma's face and the clear irritation in his eyes directed at the man next to him, but she was quickly distracted by something else. The other man's face came into view and she suddenly froze, her hands flying to her mouth to stop from gasping.

The girl could feel herself starting to hyperventilate so she took quick, deep breaths trying to calm herself down. No, this wasn't good! She wanted, no NEEDED to calm down right now. If Ryoma saw her like this he would assume something is wrong. And if he thinks something is wrong then she will have to explain to him about a part of her past she never wanted to remember ever again. She would have to re-live the nightmare she'd once gone through. And there was no way Sakuno wanted to re-live _that. _Ryoma glanced at Sakuno out of the corner of his eye as they approached her and quickly noticed her distressed state. He wanted to ask what was wrong seeing that she looked like she was about to pass out but now was not the time or place. He stepped in front of the man he was with and grabbed Sakuno's hand in his own, gently stroking it hoping it would calm her down.

She looked up in surprise at Ryoma, forgetting her worries for a second. Ryoma simply gave her a gentle smile before turning back to the man in front of them who was now watching them with interest.

"Sakuno, this is Ryuu Nakamura one of the best... merchants... in the village," he said struggling with the right word to describe his acquaintance. Sakuno turned white and her eyes widened at the mentioned name. Ryoma noticed this immediately and frowned. He wrapped his arms back around her waist and pulled her up against him, almost shielding her face from Ryuu, who seemed to be the source of her distraught. Ryuu, who was a decently handsome man in his late 20's, grinned at the two of them a strange gleam in his icy blue eyes.

"We have already met, Echizen-sama," he said suddenly, his voice breaking Sakuno out of her trance. She snuggled her face into Ryoma's side, avoiding all eye contact with the man named Ryuu. Ryoma immediately felt confused, something that didn't happen often. Sakuno had pretty much been a slave all her life, or so she said, so how would Ryuu recognize her?

"I always wondered what happened to her after I sold her," Ryuu said, a smug look settling on his face. That was when it all finally made sense to Ryoma. He knew Ryuu was a slave trader and all but there were more slave traders in the village then he could count and besides, Ryuu was considered to be one of the most popular dealers in the village and had hundreds of slaves just like Sakuno. It wasn't often that you would find a slave trader like Ryuu who knew any of his slave's names. So why did it seem like he knew Sakuno so perfectly?

"Oh is that so?" Ryoma responded in his usual calm voice. Ryuu simply nodded, the smug look never leaving his face, obviously irritating Ryoma.

"You certainly have good taste in slaves, Echizen-sama. I must say Sakuno was always so... _enjoyable_" he said emphasizing the word enjoyable a little too much for Ryoma's liking. That was what did it for Sakuno.

"Bastard," she hissed quietly under her breath, finally turning to look Ryuu in the eyes, who now resembled a gaping fish.

"What did you just say to me you insolent little bitch?!" he hissed glaring at her, as he took a step forward. Ryoma's eyes widened at the sudden anger in Sakuno's eyes. He was even more shocked with what she did next.

"You are nothing but a fucking bastard and I hope you die so I never have to see you again after this," she said before turning and running quickly towards the exit. Both men stared after her, one in anger and one in complete shock and confusion.

"I have to go take care of a problem so if you'll excuse me," Ryoma said curtly before turning to go after Sakuno. Ryuu smirked proudly, thinking that Ryoma was going to definitely punish the girl when he found her. Well, he would just have to talk to Echizen later and found out his punishment.

Meanwhile, Ryoma had quickly made his way out of the room and up the stairs assuming that Sakuno had ran to their room. He frowned as he made his way there, not liking the fact that he didn't know why Sakuno had reacted the way she did. It was not like her at all and it worried him. As soon as he reached their closed bedroom door he could hear sounds coming from inside meaning he was right about where Sakuno had gone. Sighing he opened the door ready to question Sakuno but stopped in shock as soon as he saw her.

She was curled up in a little ball in the corner of the room with her arms wrapped tightly around her legs. Her face was buried in her knees and she was rocking back and forth quietly. Even without seeing her face he could tell she was crying hysterically. Ryoma swiftly made his way over to her and gently placed his arm on one of hers, causing her to flinch away surprising him once again. (A/N: He's been getting surprised a lot this evening, hasn't he ) He grabbed her arm more firmly and gently pulled it away from her face, causing her to look up at him.

"Ry-Ryoma-kun," she gasped out quietly. He studied her tear-streaked face quietly before slipping one arm on her back and the other under her legs. Swiftly, he picked Sakuno up and sat her down carefully on the bed, shocking her. He sat down close to her, but not close enough where he was invading her space, and spoke quietly.

"Sakuno, I want you to know I'm not mad. But I want to know why you reacted the way you did in there and I want to know the truth," Ryoma said firmly leaving no room for her to say no. She sighed and knew that there was no way out of this; she would have to tell Ryoma. Sakuno knew he was going to look at her differently once he knew and that she was ruining their friendship but she no longer had a choice.

"Well, you know that Ryuu was once my master and out of all my masters, I hated him the most. He was a devil and made my life a living hell from the moment I was sold to him," she started off, her voice firm but quiet. "As I've told you before, the first time I was actually sold as a slave was when I was 10 and that was to Akio. I was 12 when I first met Ryuu-sama but he didn't become my master until later, after I had turned 13. Usually Akio didn't "rent" me out to people for more than a few days at a time but Ryuu and him were apparently great friends so he allowed Ryuu to rent me for a period of 4 months," Sakuno said her voice gaining a bitter and resentful tone. Ryoma nodded carefully which she took as her cue to continue.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, wanting nothing more then to be away from Ryoma right now, "It's not unusual for a girl to be made into a sex slave but luckily I was never made into one. Apparently, Akio wanted to wait until I was 15 before he sold me as one because he thought it would make me more valuable," she continued, "And Ryuu knew and respected that. But... that didn't mean that he couldn't have me do... other things," she said slowly, making sure to avoid all eye contact with Ryoma. He stared down at her in shock, an unreadable expression on his face.

"What exactly do you mean by other things, Sakuno?" he asked quietly looking at her intently. This was the part she had been dreading the most. She knew he was going to want to know exactly what she had been forced to do. She knew the best way to tell him was just to tell him straight up.

"We never had sex," she clarified, "and I never wanted to do anything with him but I never had a choice," she said weakly, her voice wavering. "He knew he couldn't... have sex with me... so he had me give him... give him...

"Give him what?" Ryoma interrupted her, turning her so she looked him right in the eye. Sakuno stared at him wide eyed as he gripped her shoulders tightly, his eyes blazing with anger. Unfortunately, what she didn't realize was that his anger was not directed at her but at someone else. She closed her eyes, trying to keep from crying but the more she remembered what Ryuu had done the more she cried. Ryoma froze when he saw that she was crying and immediately let go of her.

"Sakuno, please tell me what he did to you," he said almost under his breath with a soft- as-possible-for-him expression. She almost smiled when she realized how hard he was trying to not scare her. But Sakuno's smile vanished as soon as she remembered what she was supposed to be telling him. She let her hair cover her face and quickly continued with her story, her voice wavering the whole time.

"Sometimes he would have me dress up as certain things and act out certain... fantasies of his. He also used to touch me all over while he kissed me and for some reason he used to love to leave hickeys all over my neck," she muttered. "But the worst was that he used to have me satisfy his needs by giving him... either hand jobs or blowjobs. He also used to beat me all the time, either with a whip or his own hands. No matter what he did, it always hurt," Sakuno said as she finally broke down and started crying hysterically. She curled into a ball and placed her face in her hands. Immediately Ryoma wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight against him, letting her bury her face into his chest.

"_Damn it, I am going to kill him the next time I see him. How dare he do that to MY Sakuno? She always seemed so innocent too. I would never have known she was forced to do... those things. I am never going to let someone do that to her again and from now on I will protect her always. I will make that man pay for what he did to her. He will not get away with it,"_ Ryoma thought to himself as his arms tightened around Sakuno. He placed his head on top of hers and after a while, she stopped sobbing and looked up at Ryoma with bright eyes.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "I know I was lucky compared to a lot of slaves so I shouldn't be crying about it but-"

"Sakuno, no one should have to go through anything like that. You have every right to cry about it. That man is a horrible, disgusting person and you are strong for surviving all of that and never breaking. I promise you he will never hurt you again, no one will. I'll make sure it goes by my word," he said, giving her that small but amazing smile of his that she had grown to love. Okay, Ryoma knew he was acting differently then he usually did, but he had grown to care for Sakuno and he didn't want to see anyone hurt her. The two of them sat there in silence for a few minutes before he began speaking again.

"I know you've had a hard day but that's why I think it's the perfect time to give you your birthday gift," he said as he let go of her and got off the bed. He wanted to distract her from what she just told him.

"Ryoma-kun! I told you not to get me anything! Why can't you just listen-"

"Well I did anyway," he said, interrupting her with his smirk back on his face causing her to glare at him, which he just smiled amusedly at. She shook her head and sighed, knowing that he never listened to her anyway. Besides, she was grateful to him for what he said before. Ryoma quickly pulled something out of his closet and handed it to her. Whatever it was, it was wrapped up in a huge, tightly wrapped box. She stared at it curiously, wondering what it could be.

"You can open it now and tell me if you like it later," he said turning around to leave the room.

"Wait! Aren't you going to stay and open it with me?" Sakuno asked, pouting at him sadly.

"I would but unfortunately I can't. I have to attend a meeting with my father and since I missed the last one I have to go to this one," he said in an obviously annoyed tone. She giggled slightly and gave him a heart-warming smile.

"It's fine Ryoma-kun. You already did way too much for me; giving me today off, throwing me a party, and giving me a gift? It's all really too much," she admitted. Ryoma sighed and reached down towards her, making her aware that he had taken off his jacket, tie, and had unbuttoned his first few buttons giving her a good view of his firm, muscular chest. She tore her eyes away from the view, just in time to feel sudden warmth on her forehead. She looked up in confusion at Ryoma, who had placed his hand on her forehead.

"Ryoma-kun?" she asked quietly, looking up at him. He simply pushed her hair off her forehead and bent down lower until he was right next to her face. Closing his eyes, he placed a quick, gentle kiss on her forehead. Even though it was only a short little kiss on the forehead, Sakuno could feel her face burning up immediately. Ryoma's hands were on her shoulders, holding her tightly and all she could think about was the warmth emitting from his hands and more importantly his lips. Now if only he was kissing-

"I'll see you later," he said as he slowly pulled away. He gave her a quick, microscopic smile before turning to walk out of the room, leaving a stunned Sakuno behind. She smiled softly at his retreating figure, knowing that what she had just seen was a side of Ryoma that was definitely very rare. But she didn't know that she was one of the few people that ever got to see him like that at all. She also didn't know that he was going to let out all of his anger…

"I guess I better open those damn presents of his before I fall asleep," Sakuno muttered to herself as she yawned tiredly. She gently picked up the huge wrapped bow and slowly tore off the wrapping paper. She moaned in frustration when she saw more paper and quickly tore it all off as quickly as possible. It was a huge plain, brown box giving no information about what could possibly be inside at all. She gently slipped her hand under the flap of the box and yanked it up. Sakuno did the same thing to the other flap and pulled them open to reveal what was in the box. She was more than surprised to find a few different things in the box. Reaching inside and pulling out the first item, a huge bar of chocolate that was at least over a foot long (A/N: yes they really do make chocolate bars that big). There was a little note attached to it that read:

_As much as you didn't want to tell me, I know you love this chocolate. This should last you a while. I'm warning you this will be the only time I buy this kind so enjoy it while it lasts. _

_Ryoma_

The chocolate was cookies and cream, which Ryoma happened to hate but she had discovered she loved it. She smiled to herself as she remembered that day and reached into the box to see what else was in it. She smiled brightly when she realized the next thing she pulled out was a huge plushie. She may have been 15 years old but she had never owned a plushie, even was she was a little kid. Sakuno had mentioned that to Ryoma once when they were walking in town and they passed by a store, but she didn't think he would ever remember that. It was a huge, all black furry stuffed wolf. Honestly, it reminded her of Ryoma with its bright, golden like eyes and smirk like face. She tightly hugged the soft wolf to her and smiled again to herself at the thought of Ryoma giving it to her. Placing it on her bed, she reached into the box, expecting it to be empty by now.

She pulled out another small, wrapped box. She quickly tore the wrapping paper off to find a plain, white box. Sakuno opened the box and lifted its content out of it quickly. She gasped as soon as she realized what it was. It was a dress, but nothing like she had ever owned before. It was a long, classy royal blue dress that fell all the way down to the floor. The neckline was an incredibly low v-shaped neck line with thin spaghetti straps and the only design on the dress was a v-shaped array of white sequins that went to a few inches below the chest. It was made out of a shiny, soft stretchy material but felt like it would be very tight fitted once put on. The back was a regular, low squared back that sat below the shoulder blades. Sakuno really did think it was beautiful but where the hell would she ever wear it?! It was a freaking _gown_ after all, not exactly casual wear. She frowned at the dress, knowing Ryoma must have paid a ridiculous amount of money for it. When she saw him, the first thing she was going to do was curse him out. Then she was going to demand an explanation for this. And then- her thoughts were interrupted when she realized there was a note attached to the tag on the dress. It read:

_Before you get the desire to scream and yell at me about the price or non-value of this dress, I assure you I bought you this dress for a reason that will not be revealed soon enough. I'll admit, I had some help picking it out, but I mostly picked it out myself so give me a break. _

_Ryoma_

She smiled softly at the note, feeling the annoyance fading away. She gently traced the dress with her fingers, admiring the soft feel of the silk and the pretty blue color. More importantly, Ryoma had specifically picked it out for her, which automatically made it a great gift in her opinion. She quickly got up and grabbed a hanger out of the closet. Then she gently hung the dress up on a hanger and placed it at the end of her closest. Sakuno grabbed her other two gifts and was about to put them away when something shiny in the box caught her eye. She reached back into the box and was surprised to find that it wasn't empty, there was still one thing left in it. She pulled it out and realized that 'it' was a small, shiny squared silver box. Sakuno opened it carefully and gasped at what was inside.

It was a necklace but nothing like she had ever seen before. She gently traced its shape with her fingers as she examined it carefully. The chain was made of thin silver threads that were so delicate she was afraid she would break it. The pendant was a silver outline of a butterfly that was probably about two inches long and two inches wide. The body of the butterfly was made from silver while the head and antennas were tiny, light pink stones. There was another of those stones on each of the four wings. She noticed the silver gleaming in the light and the stones sparkling brightly. There was a small tag connected to the chain that she easily ripped off. It said:

_This necklace reminded me of you and I know you like pink, as well, so I thought it would be perfect for you. It is made of silver and the pink stones are diamonds, if you're wondering._

_Ryoma_

Her eyes widened when she read that. Diamonds?! She knew that meant it had to have been pretty expensive if it had freaking diamonds in it! She could practically see Ryoma smirking while he bought it. Instead of getting mad she just gently smiled and put all of her other gifts away. She unsuccessfully tried to put the necklace on and was still trying to get it on when the door opened.

"Having trouble?" a deep voice said startling her. She dropped the necklace and her hand flew to her chest. She turned around to see Ryoma sitting right behind her, his usual smirk etched across his face. Their faces were only a few inches apart and she could feel his warm breath on her cheek causing her to blush instantly. She quickly turned around in hopes of hiding it.

"Let me help you," Ryoma murmured as he placed his hands on the back of her neck. She froze as he picked up the necklace and gently placed it on her neck. He easily closed the small clasp on it, much to her annoyance.

"Turn around," he ordered calmly, to which she quickly complied. He gently placed his hands on the necklace now sitting on her collarbone and smirked again.

"Do you like it?" he asked quietly as he held it in his hand, his fingers gently touching her soft skin.

"I love it," she stated honestly as she gazed at him.

"Good," Ryoma stated simply before standing up and making his way towards the bed. He began unbuttoning his shirt while he spoke to her.

"Did you enjoy your birthday, Sakuno?" he asked while pulling off his shirt.

"Yes I did. It was the first real birthday party I ever had and it really meant a lot to me. I can't tell you how happy I am," Sakuno said while mentally congratulating herself for not stuttering even once.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. You've had a long day though, so I think you should go to bed now," he said. She nodded and made her way to the bathroom to get changed into nightclothes. Her nightclothes were brand new, a birthday gift from Ann, which consisted of tight, stretchy gray yoga pants (A/N: Those pants are so comfortable ) and a plain, long-sleeved black thermal top. The top was a little short, so she noticed how every time she bent down or stretched showing some of her stomach and back. It also had a v-neck, showing just the tiniest bit of cleavage. She walked out of the bathroom and headed towards the bed, trying to ignore Ryoma who was now staring straight at her. He had already stripped down to his black boxers and was sitting on the edge of the bed. Sakuno gently laid down next to him on the bed and pulled the covers over herself, turning so her back was facing Ryoma.

"Sakuno," he said before she could even close her eyes and try to sleep. She rolled over so she was facing him.

"Yea?" she asked quietly. Ryoma edged closer to her and reached out to move a piece of hair away from her face. She noticed how his rough hands felt so gentle as he touched her face.

"I know tonight was really hard for you, since you had to see... that man... again," he said struggling to keep the anger out of his voice at the thought of Ryuu, who he wanted to hunt down and kill, "I don't know everything that happened in your past and I probably never will. I'm not good at helping or comforting people and I usually prefer to be alone," he said. Then he took a deep breath and moved even closer to Sakuno.

"But, as for the people I care about I protect them always. I care about you, Sakuno. You've become a very important person in my life and I promise I will never let anyone hurt you again, no matter what. I know this probably sounds weird coming from me, but I need you to know how much I care about you. You are part of my family too. I don't want you to ever forget that. And even though I don't seem like it, I'm always here for you Sakuno because I really care about you," Ryoma finished.

After that, Sakuno just stared at him with wide eyes, trying to remember how to breathe, shocked that _Ryoma_ had just said any of that to her. For a while there was nothing but silence until finally Sakuno managed to say something.

"Thank you," she murmured, her brown eyes glistening with unshed tears. "You don't know how much that means to me," she said as she slowly started crying. She smiled brightly and stared straight at Ryoma. "You changed my life, Ryoma-kun. How could I ever forget anything about you?" Sakuno said laughing slightly. "I care for you too, Ryoma" she finished quietly. He smiled at her and placed a sweet kiss on the top of her head.

"Thank you," he whispered as he gently rolled her over so her back was once again facing him. She smiled at him once more before she closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep. Once Ryoma was sure she was asleep he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tightly to him. He placed his head on the top of hers and let his thoughts wander to the girl next to him. _"I did it," _he thought_, "I told her that I care about her," _Ryoma truly cared about her, something he couldn't say for a lot of people. He had come to understand something tonight, something that could completely change their relationship and something that he didn't think she knew at all. You see he had realized that evening that he was falling, head over heels, in love with his servant, Sakuno.

The End

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Author's Note: Well, there you go, my longest and most important chapter so far! I really hoped you liked it. Please pleas pleaseeee review!! I am dying to know what you guys think of this chapter. It would mean a lot to me if you told me what you thought of this chapter. The next chapter contains something huge that this chapter is leading up to. I really hoped you liked it. Bye for now!!

Sammie


	10. Chapter 10: Romeo and Juliet

My Slave

_Chapter 10: Romeo and Juliet_

**Warning:** there is cursing, and some slightly mature content but nothing really past Pg or barely PG-13 at most***

_Note:_ There is a song in this chapter – "Love Story"- Taylor Swift. You do not have to like the song or anything. The only reason I pout it was because the lyrics happen to go reallllly well with the end of this chapter. If you read it you will see what I mean.

**AUHTOR'S NOTE: **I AM SO SORRRY!! I know it has been forever since I've update and I deeply apologize for that. It's been wayyyyy tooo long since my last update and I feel like such a bitch. Honestly, I have been working on this chapter forever and life just kept getting in the way. If you don't want to read this story anymore, I can't say I don't get why. Still, I hope you will all continue reading it anyway. This is my longest chapter yet, if that means anything. AND- it is the most important chapter of the story so far. As foe the name of the chapter, I've been reading Romeo and Juliet and I'm going to see the play too. Read the chapter and you'll get why this chapter is named that. ONCE AGAIN I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING. Also, I am sorry if I didn't answer your reviews for the last chapter. I promise you next chapter I will be a lot more organized and it will be out much quicker. Life has been so crazy the last few months. Well, the moment we've all been waiting for, the 10th chapter of _My Slave_!

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"You kissed a girl?!," Sakuno screamed loudly in total shock. Summer simply shrugged and gulped down the rest of the iced tea she was drinking.

"Yea, I have," Summer said carelessly. "I was at a party and someone dared me to kiss one of my best friends. So I did," she added. Sakuno stared at her wordlessly. There was no way she could never imagine kissing a girl. It's not that she has anything against lesbians or anything, but she blushed at kissing guys alone! There is no way she could ever kiss a girl!! She just doesn't have the guts to. "It's nothing special, you know," Summer said bringing Sakuno back from out of her shocked state. "It's not like I haven't done things like it before." Sakuno didn't miss the mischief look Summer and Ann shared after Summer said that. But she decided that it was probably better if she didn't ask. Suddenly Sakuno remembered something causing her to jump up from where she was sitting on the floor.

"Shit! What time is it?" she asked nervously, as she began to run her hand through her hair wildly.

"A little after 2, I think. Why?" Summer asked.

"Damnit! I was supposed to meet Ryoma outside in the garden at 2. I promised him I would be on time, since I was late the last two times I had to meet him" Sakuno exclaimed, as she started to panic.

Summer's eyes widened a fraction of a second before she lazily said with an evil smirk on her face, "Damn girl, the garden is all the way on the other side of the house! If I were you I would have all ready started running". Sakuno resisted the urge to punch Summer in the face, since she didn't have time and instead just settled for giving her a really dirty look.

"I'll kill you later for that!" she called out as she flew out of there. Summer shook her head at Sakuno and laughed quietly to herself. As for Sakuno, she was making her way to the garden as quickly as possible. She was already late, but maybe he would be late too. The last few times they had to meet she had been late which is why this time she swore she would be on time. She knew Ryoma was starting to get annoyed and Ryoma being annoyed is never a good thing. Well at least in her, and every sane person out there, opinion's anyway. She was starting to have trouble breathing and her legs were killing her but she kept running. She almost cried in relief when she saw the door that led to the main outside garden. She shoved herself through it and quickly looked around for Ryoma. She didn't see him anywhere and she smiled in relief as she collapsed to the ground. Good, she had made it there b-

"Your late again," a voice said suddenly from behind her. She froze immediately recognizing Ryoma's voice. Well at least she tried, maybe that would count for something. She slowly stood up and turned around to face him.

"Damnit," she cursed under her breath. He didn't look mad, but Sakuno could tell he was furious. His arms were crossed and he was clenching his left fist tightly, a sign that he was, indeed, furious as hell. Well, there's goes the whole 'trying might count for something' plan.

"Your a half hour late," he said, crossing his arms across his chest carelessly.

"I'm sorry," she said looking down at her wine-red winter shoes, which were suddenly extremely fascinating. She wasn't surprised when she felt Ryoma's hand on her face nor was she surprised when he lifted her chin up to meet his eyes, but she was taken back by the expression on his face. His eyes were soft, which was like a sign of the apocalypse, and he was smiling slightly, in that teasing, half-smirking way of his.

"Sakuno," he muttered. "Did you actually think I would be mad at you for being late? It's really not a big deal," he said, an amused look making its way on to his face. Sakuno stared after him with shock clear in her eyes.

"Your not mad?" she asked in disbelief, thinking of all the time he had gotten mad over stupid little things. For example, one time he had gotten mad because she hung one of his jackets on the left side of his closest instead of the right. He had gotten really pissed because of that but he wasn't mad now? What the hell is that?! (Although she's forgetting that he had given her extra time off when he had gotten mad about the whole jacket thing.)

"No," he answered simple turning his back to her.

"So your saying I ran my ass all the way over here for nothing? That I panicked for absolutely nothing?" she asked as anger and annoyance slowly rising in her voice. He shrugged indifferently.

"Yea I guess you did," he said without even looking at her.

"You are su-such a jerk!" she said as she ran towards him out of nowhere. She jumped into the air and landed on his back, ready to tackle him to the ground.

"What the hell?!" he said completely taken off guard. In an effort to keep her from falling, he wrapped his arms around her causing them to both fall to the ground. They landed with a thud causing both of them to groan in pain. Sakuno slowly opened her eyes from her position on top, placing her hand on her head. She knew she was going to have a killer headache later. Ryoma opened his eyes and quickly tried to gain control of his sense again.

"I'm going to remember this," he muttered more to himself then to her. Then, he smirked at her dazed expression and easily flipped them over so he was on top. I mean after all, why let a good opportunity go to waste?

"Ryoma, what, what are you doing?!" she exclaimed all previous anger and annoyance forgotten. He shrugged and simply laid his head down on her chest, breathing peacefully.

"Ryoma-san! Get off me! What if someone sees us? I demand you move right now, damnit!" she yelled trying to push him off of her. But unfortunately for Sakuno, Ryoma was a lot stronger then her. A strong, prominent blush has risen to her face.

"I'm comfortable here," he said as he nuzzled his face into her chest. "I don't want to move." She froze then, not sure to make out of what he just said. There had to be something wrong with him...?

"Okay Ryoma, this isn't you. Did you hit your head or something? Or have you been drinking? Did you take some kind of medication or something? Is the stress getting to you? You know-

"You talk to much," he said as he suddenly brought his face right up next to hers. He leaned down close till their faces were not even inches apart. He carefully took in the blush of her face and the look in her eyes. They stayed like that for a few minutes, just simply staring at each other. The overwhelming desire to kiss her came over Ryoma and he knew he had to get away from her before he did something he would regret. He resentfully got up off her, ignoring the dazed expression on her face. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and gently pulled her up next to him. Ryoma looked at her with a burning gaze that felt like he was looking right through her. Sakuno decided that she was going to have a little trouble breathing if he didn't look away soon.

"A few people are coming over later. I need you to meet me in the main room then. Ok?" he said as he slowly let go of her hand. She simply slowly nodded as he backed away from her. He offered her a small, short smile before turning his back to her and walking away. Besides the obvious desire he felt over her, there was something else that he just couldn't figure out what it was. As for Sakuno, he smiled softly at his back and whispered softly to herself, "I wonder, is this what love feels like?" Then she made her way out of the garden, leaving it empty except for many unspoken words and feelings from one very stubborn boy and one extremely insecure girl.

-----------Later-------------

Sakuno stared into space from where she sat on her bed, thinking about earlier that day. Nothing had really happened, but when Ryoma had been that close to her...well, it felt absolutely **amazing**. But that wasn't what was bothering her. She already knew that she had feelings for Ryoma that much was obvious. It just really hurt her when he acted that way towards her, when he acted almost like they were... a couple. She knew that he didn't mean anything by it and to him they were acting just like normal friends. And if she didn't feel anything for him and she really was happy with just being friends...well, then it wouldn't bother her. But unfortunately, she does care about him as more then a friend. And there's nothing she can do about that.

She tightened her fists in frustration. Why did she have to like him of all people? He is the freakin prince! Out of all the guys she had to fall for the one guy that was so far out of her reach she shouldn't even be allowed to _talk_ to him, let alone be with him. I mean, she is nothing but a lowly slave and he is her... her master. As much as she hates it, those are the facts and there isn't anything she can do to change it. She was lucky to even be friends with him and she should be happy with that. But...

"But I'm not," she whispered quietly to herself, as a few tears slowly rolled down her face. "I love him so much, it's not fair," she added to herself, trying to ignore the pain she felt at that thought. She knew she was young and didn't know anything about love, but somehow she knew she loved Ryoma. Everything about him amazed her and she wanted nothing more then to always be with him...but she was never going to get that chance.

Knock-knock

"Can I come in?" Summer's cheery voice called from outside the door. Sakuno didn't even flinch when she heard the sudden noise.

"Yea," Sakuno responded quietly as she quickly tried to smile happily, failing miserably.

"Are you ready? We're supposed to go downstairs now," Summer said loudly, smiling brightly at Sakuno as she walked inside the room. But she stopped short when she saw the look on Sakuno. Sakuno looked sadder and worse then she had ever seen her before. She opened her mouth but closed it unsurely, not really sure what to say. First of all, she didn't even know what the hell was wrong! Whatever it was she was about 100% sure it had to do with Ryoma. She quietly made her way to the bed and sat down next to Sakuno. She was determined to fix whatever the hell was wrong with Sakuno.

"What did Ryoma do now? If you want me to, I'll cut his d*** off for you. You can't get sweeter revenge on a guy then that," she offered, attempting to get Sakuno to smile or at least show some sign of life. Sakuno didn't even blink and instead she just continued to stare at the bed with the same blank expression on her face. Summer moved closer and placed her arm around Sakuno's shoulder.

"Come on, Sakuno. Tell me what's wrong. I swear I'll do my best to fix whatever it is," she whispered, looking at the heart-broken Sakuno. Suddenly, she couldn't take it any more and Sakuno found herself crying hysterically. Without warning, she turned around and threw herself at Summer. Startled, Summer wrapped her arms around Sakuno to keep her from falling and immediately tightened them when she realized Sakuno was crying. She brought her hand up and started to softly pat the top of Sakuno's head. "Shhh, it'll be all right, whatever it is," she said quietly.

"It's Ryoma," was all Sakuno managed to say in between tears.

"What did he do?" Summer urged on, wanting desperately to know what Ryoma had done to make Sakuno this upset.

"He didn't do anything. It's just that..." Sakuno trailed off and once again started crying hysterically. Summer unconsciously tightened her grip around Sakuno at this when she realized what Sakuno was talking about. But she had to make sure.

"You realized that you love him, didn't you?" Summer asked quietly. Sakuno managed to stop crying long enough to give Summer a firm nod. So that's what this was all about. Well, it wasn't like she didn't see this coming. She just didn't think it would happen so...soon. But Summer knew deep down in her heart tat Sakuno really did love Ryoma. Any idiot with eyes could see that. She also understood that nothing hurt more then when you loved someone who didn't love you back. She knew at that exact moment that she wasn't going to be able to make Sakuno feel much better. No, that was in Ryoma's hands now even if he didn't know it. Summer took a deep breath and prepared to tell Sakuno what she knew she was going to have to tell her from the beginning.

"Sakuno, it will be all right," she started. "I know you love Ryoma and fully believe that you will never get a chance to be with him. First of all, even if that were true, you would get over him in time and fall for other boys. Trust me, I've been in that position before," Summer said, thinking back to all of her past lovers. Sakuno glanced up at her in disbelief. Get over him? Like that was even possible! There was nobody else like Ryoma... there was no way she could ever love anyone but him.

"But of course, you probably will never have to get over him because he cares about you and one day he'll realize he loves you, too" Summer said softly, a small understanding smile on her face. She slowly let go of Sakuno, who was still staring at her in shock at what she just said, and walked to the door. "Get ready now and then meet us downstairs. I'll make up an excuse for you," she said as she left the room, shaking her head as she did. Ryoma loved Sakuno; everyone knew it but him and Sakuno. She sighed as she started making her way downstairs. Maybe one day they would finally get together and be happy. They would all just have to wait and see...

Meanwhile back in Sakuno's room she had just washed her face to hide the fact that she had been crying. She threw on a pair of old tight jeans and a plain green t-shirt. It was a little small on her but she wasn't really worrying about how she looked right now. Her hair was down and a bit messy from being in a ponytail. She glanced at herself in the mirror to make sure she didn't look like she just realized she was in love with her master who would never love her back. Nope, she didn't think anyone would notice her world was falling apart. Then she took one last deep breath, put on a smile, and walked out of the bedroom. Just smile like you mean it, she kept thinking to herself. Before she knew it she was walking into the main room downstairs getting ready to face Ryoma. As soon as she entered, she could see Ryoma sitting on the couch next to Momoshiro, glaring at him quite viciously.

"Sakuno-kun!" Eiji's voice called loudly from across the room. He ran towards her and immediately swept her into a tight hug, swinging her around easily. "I haven't seen you in so long!" he added as he gently set her down, grinning like a crazy person. It took Sakuno a moment to grasp her surroundings again after the sudden attack from him. When she did, she realized he was still hugging her way too tightly.

"Um, Eiji-san can you please let go of me?" she asked politely as she tried to break free of him. She was starting to almost feel slightly light headed from the lack of air. Unfortunately he didn't seem to hear her and just kept on hugging her happily.

"Let go of her," a stern, cold voice rang out all of the sudden causing Eiji to let go of her immediately. The sudden movement made Sakuno fall ungracefully to the ground. She turned her head towards the voice to see Ryoma walking towards them with that ever-present scowl of his plastered on his handsome face. He silently held out his hand for her and pulled her up as soon as she grabbed his hand. "Are you all right?" he murmured quietly, carefully scanning her body for any noticeable signs of injury.

"Yea, I'm fine. Thank you," she said quietly, not really looking at the boy in front of her. Honestly she was still thinking about how much life sucked and how unfair it was. She _really_ didn't feel like going to this damn meeting.

"Hey, are you all right?" Ryoma asked noticing how quiet and sad Sakuno seemed to be. It made him feel like he was missing something, which he hated. Also he just didn't like seeing her sad because...well, that wasn't important right now.

"I'm fine," she said as she looked up at him, giving him a small smile. She smiled wider when she saw the slight concern in his eyes. And she actually was fine. Ryoma cared about her. Maybe not in the way she cared about him, but that was okay. The fact that he cared about her at all was enough for her. And who knows? Maybe one day it could change and he will care for her the way she cares for him. A girl can always hope, right? He continued to study her for a few more minutes and decided to just let it go for now. But that didn't mean he wouldn't bring it up later. He _would _get her to admit whatever was bothering her later. He sighed and turned around to face everyone else.

"Okay guys listen up. Our guests should be here any minute. They happen to be some of the members of the royal family from our neighboring country on the east," he told everyone.

"Wow Ryoma, that was probably the most I have ever heard you say at once," Ann said, not at all affected by the heated glare he was now giving her. Everyone erupted into laughter at the very true comment.

Knock-knock

Everyone temporarily froze at the sudden knocking on the door. But as soon as they realized who could be at the door, everyone scrambled to sit down and look somewhat presentable except for Ryoma who simply stayed where he was. The door flew open and in walked Ryoma's dad followed by four young others, two females and two males. The girls were both very done up with a lot of eye makeup, high heels, and little fancy dresses. The guys both wore polo shirts and jeans with their hair styled in some spiked u in some way. All four of them walked with an air of confidence, like they owned the place. Needless to say, they didn't exactly make a good first impression.

"This is my son, Ryoma," his dad told them. For once his dad was dressed professionally in a suit and instead of his usual cheerful voice; he spoke in a strong, firm apathetic voice. (So that was were Ryoma got it from) Ryoma shook hands with both of the guys while the two girls curtsied deeply.

The two batted their eyelashes slowly before saying, "It is an honor to meet you Ryoma-sama," Meanwhile in the corner Summer, Sakuno, and pretty much everybody else was trying ridiculously hard not to start laughing at the two girls obvious attempt at flirting. Ryoma nodded before gesturing towards the empty couch across from him with his hand.

"Please take a seat," he offered as his dad slyly made his way out of the room. As they sat down, Ryoma quickly sat down on the couch next to Sakuno, who glanced up at him in surprise out of the corner of her eyes.

"I suppose we should introduce ourselves," the brunette males said. "I'm Ueda and this is my sister Mika," he said motioning to the brunette haired girl next to him. "And this is our cousin Sato and his sister Yumi," he added, as he motioned to the two blonde teenagers sitting on his other side. Ryoma gave a barely noticeable nod before responding.

"As you know, I'm Ryoma, the prince of this nation. And these boys here are the future council members: Momoshiro, Tezuka, Eiji, Kaidoh, Oishi, Fuji, Inui, and Taka." There was a chorus of loud hellos said after that while some of them simply nodded. (Guess who did what). After that Ann stepped up and waved warmly.

"And I am An Tachibana, by the way" she said giving a slight bow to the people in front of her.

"Tachibana? As in Kippei Tachibana, the son of this kingdom's head of security?" Ueda responded, sitting up suddenly. As soon as An nodded, he quickly continued. "What's your relation to him?" his quick, commanding voice caught An off guard for a second.

"He is my older brother," An said quickly, pride clear in her voice. Ueda blinked in surprise before directing a warm smile at An.

"Ah, what a wonderful surprise. I have heard great things about you from your brother when he visited my country a few weeks ago. Of course, you are even more beautiful than I imagined." he finished as he got up to place a gentle kiss on An's hand. Before he could say anything else, Momoshiro was right next to them, stepping in between them.

"I think a proper introduction is in order here. I am Momoshiro, An-kun's boyfriend," he said, a glare etched on his face. An smiled warmly up at Momo, obviously grateful for the rescue, as she and him sat back down on the couch together. Ueda faltered for a second before quickly regaining his composure.

"Ah, how sweet," he said as his eyes swept around the room before landing on Sakuno and Summer, who were both sitting next to Ryoma, one on each side. Before he could say anything Summer stood up and held out her hand to him. She had on simple blue jeans and a tight, long-sleeved hot pink sweater.

"I'm Summer Uchiha. I don't believe we've met before," she said, offering him a small little smile. Immediately all four of the visitor's faces light up in recognition.

"Damn, you're even hotter than everyone says you are! I didn't even think that was possible," Sato exclaimed almost instantly, a crazy grin on his boyish face. Summer crossed her arms across her chest and blinked at him, a perfectly calm look etched across her face. Meanwhile, Ueda rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry for his behavior but you'll have to excuse him, he's very immature," Ueda added, before grabbing Summer's hand and placing a small kiss on it. "Although I have to say he was right about how beautiful you are. But I am sure you do not need another man telling you how beautiful you are. It must get annoying. Besides, I am willing to bet you are even more amazing inside. Perhaps we could hang out sometimes and we could get to know each other? Just as friends, of course". He finished with a casual wink at Summer who merely gave him a cool, collected look and easily pulled her hand away from him.

"Just because he was honest that doesn't make him immature," she said calmly. "In fact I would rather him be honest about his interest in me. It's people like you, who try to act like your after something else, that annoy the shit out of me" she continued, flipping her hair behind her shoulder as she turned away from him. "Oh and so you know, I have a boyfriend" she added with a wink at Sakuno, who smiled at Summer knowing fully well that even if Summer was single Ueda still wouldn't stand a chance with her. At that though, Sakuno let out a quick small laugh, causing everyone to direct their attention towards her.

"And who might you be?" Mika asked as she glared at Sakuno while swinging her long dark hair over her shoulder. Before Sakuno could even think about an answer, she felt Ryoma place his hand on her knee and answer.

"This is Sakuno, my personal servant," he stated casually. After that a loud silence fell over the room and no one said anything making Sakuno feel very uncomfortable, to say the least.

"If I may ask Ryoma-sama, why is she sitting next to you? Don't you think she should be sitting on the floor or standing in the back of the room like slaves are supposed to?" Ueda asked, curiosity evident in his voice.

"How can you be so comfortable sitting next to _that _anyway,Ryoma-sama?," Mika asked, disgust clear in her voice. Yumi hastily nodded in agreement

"Sakuno is a person, not a _that_!" An suddenly shouted angrily as she jumped up from her seat. Ueda frowned at her and shook his head slowly.

"Excuse me miss An, but slaves are NOT people. They are simply here for our pleasure and to benefit us. And once we no longer need them, then we either sell or dispose of them. They are nothing," Ueda explained calmly like you would to a small child, a smirk on his face. "I have to say Ryoma-sama, I admire that you let her sit right next to you like that. She must be _very_ well-trained".

"Yea, and if I had a slave that looked as good as her, I would have her sitting next to me at all times too. Would you let me borrow her sometime?," Sato asked, a crazy grin on his face. Sakuno's head shot up at this and she glared viciously at Sato.

"I would never do anything with you in a million years even if you were my master. I couldn't do anything with someone that looked like a transvestite," she snapped. Her hand flew over her mouth and her eyes widened in shock. It seemed like everyone was staring at her with wide eyes and mouths hanging open in shock. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted it. Shit, she probably shouldn't have done that. Now all 4 of them were glaring at her.

"You really must teach it some matters," Yumi said crossly. "I would be happy to train it for you, Ryoma-sama," she added with a sudden, out of nowhere seductive tone. Ryoma suddenly stood up (completely ignoring the way Yumi was staring at him) since he had had enough of this.

"Listen because I am only going to say this once. Sakuno _is _my personal servant but she is also a person and I happen to like her. So I really do not appreciate you insulting her," he said. Once again, a collected gasp seemed to come from everyone in the room including Sakuno who was now staring intently at Ryoma.

"Ryoma-sama, we understand that you are attached to this filthy whore but you are forgetting what she is," Yumi said finally regaining her senses. Meanwhile, Ueda had turned to stare at Sakuno.

"Really Ryoma, she is nothing, she is lower than the dirt you walk on," he said a frown on his face. Sakuno froze at his words. She immediately flashed back to a million different places in her past. She has heard those words from so many people. And before she had come here, she had believed them but now she was finally staring to see that all those people were wrong...weren't they?

"Sakuno, was that your name?" Ueda asked her suddenly pulling her out of her memories. She looked back up at him and became immobile at his cold, cruel smirk. "Ah, it doesn't matter what your name is anyway. Slaves only have names for the convenience of their masters. Your name could be changed at anytime," he said dismissively. "Anyway_ girl_, what you need to understand is that in our world you are absolutely nothing. That's all you have ever been and that's all you will ever be. Your master Ryoma may be kind and nice to you, but that's just because you got lucky. Most masters would not be so nice. I hope you are eternally grateful for Ryoma-sama because you shouldn't even be allowed to be in the same room as him. You are nothing," he said smugly. Sakuno clenched her fists and looked away from him, tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes. She had heard all of this, and worse, before so it shouldn't affect her like this. But now, it was being said in front of Ryoma the boy she...loves.

"You're wrong," she whispered but loud enough for Ueda to hear her. He smirked wider and raised an eyebrow at her.

"You poor dumb slave," he said shaking his head. "You are nothing but a toy, a servant is higher than you are."

"Besides," said Mika a confident smirk on her pretty face, "The only reason Ryoma is so nice to you is because he is attached to your body."

"Yea," Yumi added," the only reason he keeps you around is because you give him pleasure. He is a man, after all, and even the best men fall victim to lust every once in awhile. It also doesn't help when there is a little trick like you sitting around."

"No, you're wrong. I'm not-" Sakuno started to say quietly, trying her hardest not to cry.

Ueda sighed deeply before he interrupted you. "How dumb are you? Listen, you are nothing but a lowly...little...whore," he said slowly emphasizing each word. "And that's all you'll ever be good for," he finished causing Sakuno to just break. She stooped trying to be strong and started to sob uncontrollably as his words sunk in.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Summer screamed loudly as she jumped up. Her fists were clenched tightly at her sides, her eyes blazing with anger that even Ryoma had barely ever seen in her eyes before. "Don't you say another damn thing about Sakuno or I swear I'll beat you so hard, you will wish you were dead. How dare you think you have a freakin right to say shit like that to her! You don't even know anything about her, you fucking dickhead! What do you think you're a man because you can make a girl cry and feel bad about herself? Well I got news for you, if you don't apologize I'll cut your mutherfckin precious male part off and we'll see how much of a man you are after that!" Summer finished loudly, her whole body shaking as she took in deep quick breaths to try and calm down. Her hair clung to her flushed face and hell in her dark anger-filled eyes. The four visitors were staring at her in utter and complete shock.

"It doesn't matter what you say, nothing will change the fact that she is a _SLUT,_" Ueda yelled shakily as he jumped up and took a step in Summer's direction. Any idiot could see the fear plain in his eyes through. Summer narrowed her eyes at him and before anyone could say anything, she lunged for Ueda intent on beating the shit out of him. Ueda quickly tried to move back away from Summer who threw back her arm to punch him straight across the face.

"Stop," a strong voice suddenly rang out. Summer's arm came to a stop as it was suddenly grabbed in a tight, string grip. Summer turned to look at the idiot who has grabbed her and she growled (yes, growled) when she saw it was Ryoma.

"Get the hell off of me Ryoma! I need to beat the shit out of this jerk!" she yelled as she tried to pull away from him. Ryoma quickly turned and grabbed Summer's arm, stopping her before she could hit Ueda. He quickly pushed her arms behind her back and held onto her tightly to keep her from moving. Summer struggled to get away from him, muttering curses as she did. Finally she stopped after a few minutes when she realized she was out of breath. He whispered something into her ear to which she at first protested. He quickly gave her a quick, harsh shove on her arm and finally, he whispered something again to her and after a few heavy minutes she finally slowly nodded. Everyone watched anxiously as he slowly let her go and stepped towards Ueda. Summer simply turned around without looking back and sat down near An and Momo, who both gave her questionable looks. She simply nodded her head towards Ryoma. Ryoma started walking towards Ueda who although he was still shaking, was smiling at Ryoma.

"Ah, thank you Ryoma-sama. It's good to know-

BAM was what everyone heard as they watched Ryoma punched Ueda straight across the face, sending him flying back a few feet onto the floor. Needless to say, everyone was shocked (except for Summer who was standing there with a smug look on her face.) Yumi, Sato, and Mika were all sitting there unmoving, not sure what the hell just happened or what to do really. Ueda was sitting on the floor, his eyes wide and his hand holding the side of his face that Ryoma had hit. No one said anything for while since they were all obviously too surprised to.

"Ryoma-sama, what-"Shut the hell up!" Ryoma said loudly as he interrupted Ueda who had finally started to get up. "I don't give a shit about what any of you are going to say, but if you don't get the hell out of here now, I can guarantee you will have more than one black eye" Ryoma finished in a surprisingly calm voice. Anyone could easily hear the restrained anger in his voice, though.

"Wha-why Ryoma-sama? Did we do something to anger you? I assure you whatever Mika, one of my brothers, or I did to anger you we are very apologetic," Yumi said sweetly. Ryoma clenched his fists and ignored the girl.

"Sakuno may be a slave but she is also important to me and my friend. I will not allow anyone to talk badly about her or hurt her like you did today. I am sick of you talking shit about her and hurting her like this. Be glad I am letting you go with just a black eye, Ueda because if I ever see you again or if you ever hurt Sakuno again in anyway, I can't promise you will walk away so easily again. Honestly I don't give a fck if she is a slave or not. It doesn't matter to me. So get the hell out of here before you make me do something you'll regret!" Ryoma finished his eyes blazing with barely controlled anger.

Ueda opened his mouth to say something in protest but decided against it when he saw the look on Ryoma's face. Instead he simply turned around and walked towards the exit with Sato trailing behind him. Mika and Yumi quickly curtsied to Ryoma before quickly following their brothers. Sakuno watched as they walked out of the door, a blank look on her face. She felt so damn..._confused_. Why had Ryoma reacted that way Ueda and them were important guests but Ryoma had acted like they were nothing and all because of what they said about her. And more importantly he had gotten so angry. She frowned to herself as she tried to figure out. She had figured that later after they left he would probably apologize about their behavior to her but she never thought in a million years that he would.... hit Ueda like that. She just didn't get _why_ he reacted like that. _What did this all mean?_

"Sakuno, I'm-Don't" Sakuno interrupted Ryoma as she stepped away from him. He gave her a completely bewildered look, which turned into utter and complete shock when tears flew from her eyes. "I have to get out of here," she whispered to herself. This was all just too much. And the way Ryoma was looking at her right now, like he _cared_...it was just too much. She looked at Ryoma once last time before turning around and running from the room. And that, my friends, is when it all began.

We were both young  
When I first saw you  
I closed my eyes  
And the flash back starts  
I'm standing there  
On a balcony in summer air

I see the lights  
See the party the ballgowns  
I see you make your way  
Through the crowd  
And say Hello  
Little did I know

"Sakuno!" Summer and Ann both called out at the same time as they jumped up, ready to run after their friend.

"Don't" Ryoma said holding out his hand to stop them. They both gave him incredulous looks but he quickly continued. "I'll go after her," he said causing everyone in the room to stare at him in shock. "After all, what ever is hurting her if it's not what Ueda and them said, it's probably my fault," he muttered before taking off in the direction Sakuno went. Everyone stared after him, the shock still not wearing off at what just happened. As for Summer and Ann, the two of them blinked back their surprise and gave each other small, knowing smiles. _Finally_, they both thought to themselves.

Sakuno ran blindly through the house, trying to make her way to the garden. She was remembering everything, from the day she was first given to Ryoma, to her birthday party, and everything else. She just didn't get it. She knew she loved Ryoma and she understood that he thought of her as a friend. But the way he acted...he acted well, like they were _more_ then friends. She just didn't get it. He couldn't like her the way she liked him...could he?

_That you were Romeo  
You were throwing pebbles  
'Till my daddy said Stay away from Juliet  
And I was crying on the staircase  
Beggin' you Please don't go_

_And I said  
Romeo take me  
Somewhere we can be alone  
I'll be waiting  
All that's left to do is run  
You be the Prince  
And I'll be the Princes  
It's a Love Story_  
_Baby just say Yes_

Ryoma ran through the house as quickly as he could, figuring that she probably went to the garden. She always loved to go there especially when something was bothering her. He frowned as he remembered how many different times he had found her out there upset over something. It really a-wait, he couldn't think about this right now. He had to focus on finding Sakuno and fixing whatever he did. He couldn't stand to hurt her, not again. He had done that too many times already.

She had finally made it into the garden. She collapsed onto the ground, completely out of breath. She buried her face in her knees as she thought about what she had gotten herself into this time. She was going to get in so much trouble, that she was certain. But she just couldn't handle being in that room anymore. Not after everything Ueda and them said and not after the way Ryoma acted. It was just too confusing. She is only 15 year's old!

_So I sneak out  
To the garden to see you  
We keep quiet  
Cause were dead if they new  
So close your eyes  
Just keep this down for a little while_

Ryoma quietly made his way into the garden. He was tired as hell and his muscles were screaming for him to rest but he needed to find Sakuno. But at the same time, he didn't want to scare her so he was trying to be quiet.

"Sakuno," he said as he came upon her leaning against a tree in the garden. Immediately, she jumped up and turned around to face him. Neither of them said anything. They stared at each other, the space between them feeling a lot further then it actually was. Sakuno closed her eyes and started to turn back around. This wasn't right. She wasn't supposed to want him like this. She's a slave, he is forbidden to her. At least, that's what she kept telling herself.

_Cause you were Romeo  
I was a Scarlet Letter  
And my daddy said Stay away from Juliet  
But you were everything to me  
And I was beggin' you Please don't go_

And I said  
Romeo take me  
Somewhere we can be alone  
I'll be waiting  
All that's left to do is run  
You be the Prince  
And I'll be the Princes  
It's a Love Story  
Baby just say Yes

"Don't go Sakuno," Ryoma finally said she he stepped towards her, causing her to freeze in place. She turned back around to look at him, waiting for him to say something. He opened his mouth to speak but for once he just couldn't think of anything to say. Damn, he was just so tired of all this. That's _it._ Whatever the hell this thing between Sakuno and him is, he is going to figure it out right now. And he didn't give a damn what anyone had to say about it. Meanwhile, Sakuno was pretty much just about to give up on the whole thing.

_Romeo save me  
They're trying to tell me how to feel  
This love is difficult  
But it's real  
Don't be afraid  
We'll make it out of this mess  
It's a Love Story  
Baby just say Yes_

I got tired of waiting  
Wounderin' if you were ever comin' around  
My faith in you was fading  
When I met you on the outskirts of town I said,

"So I suppose your here to scold me for running away? I am very sorry Ryoma-sama. I promise you I will not do that again," Sakuno said, barely managing to keep her voice from cracking as she bowed low towards the ground.

_Romeo save me  
I've been feelin' so alone  
I keep waiting for you  
But you never come  
Is this in my head?  
I don't know what to think  
He kneels to the ground  
And pulls out a ring and says,_

"I told you not to do that," Ryoma said as he made his way to her. He gently knelt down on his knee and lifted her face up with one hand. "You don't _ever_ have to bow to me," he said. She slowly stood up next to him, noticing how bright his eyes seemed to be up close. For once, she didn't even flinch when he placed his hand on her cheek, cradling her face gently. Neither of them broke eye contact as they stared wordlessly at each other.

_Marry me Juliet  
You never have to be alone  
I love you  
And that's all I really know  
I talked to your dad  
Go pick out a white dress  
It's a Love Story  
Baby just say Yes_

Ryoma flashed back to the day he first met Sakuno and how he hadn't even wanted a servant. Well, he had been wrong for once. As for Sakuno, she flashed back to the very first time she ever saw Ryoma. She had been about 13 when he visited her town. Although he hadn't seen her hidden among the crowds of people trying to see him, the prince, she had seen him. She had been amazed by how cool and mysterious he looked. She smiled to herself at her first memory of him. Who would have known she would end up here? He leaned down and pulled her face right next to his own. She shivered as his warm breath hit her face.

_Cause we were both young  
When I first saw you..._

And then, he kissed her. And he knew he would never be able to let go of her again. Sakuno eagerly kissed him back, wanting nothing more then for this moment to never end. She had been forced to kiss many men before but it had never felt like this before. Kissing Ryoma was amazing. She threaded her fingers through his hair while he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, pulling her as tightly as possible against him. This kiss was...just...well, amazing. It was slow, sensual, romantic, and everything a kiss should be like. She didn't even mind when he gently pushed open her mouth. It seemed like the two of them could stay there forever, just happily kissing each other. But sadly, all good things come to and end.

They broke apart slowly and Ryoma rested his forehead against Sakuno's. He smirked tiredly at the dazed and happy look on her face. As Sakuno struggled to regain her breathing, Ryoma spoke quietly.

"I know this is sudden," he said quietly, never pulling his hands away from their position around her waist. "And I'm sorry for everything I have ever do to hurt you, Sakuno. But the thing is, I care about you. I can't say I'm in love with you yet because I'm not sure I know what that is. I know I care about you though and that I love you in some way. And I know I want to be with you more then anything else. So please Sakuno, can you forgive me for everything I've done and be my girlfriend?" he asked her, his gaze boring into hers.

"B-But, I'm just a slave. It's practically forbidden! I don't want you to get in trouble or have to deal with what everyone will say just because of me," she said lowly.

"I don't care," he said shrugging causing her to look right back up. "I care a lot about you, Sakuno. I wouldn't care if you were a goddamn prostitute or princess. I love you and I don't care about what anyone has to say about it. So...will you be my girlfriend?" he asked again. She smiled softly at him and reached up to place a gentle kiss on his lips. She smiled as she pulled away.

"Of course I will be," she said as she rested her head on his chest. I love you, Ryoma," she said softly. He smiled widely at her words and crushed her tighter against him. She giggled slightly as a thought hit her. "You know," she said as she lazily looked up at him, " we are kind of like Romeo and Juliet, if you think about it. We are not supposed to be together, you are supposed to be forbidden to me," she said. Ryoma shook his head at her.

"Your wrong," he said quietly. "We can't be like them because our love will not end in tragedy. Besides, Juliet, well, she ain't got shit on you," he said casually, causing Sakuno to burst out laughing at his words. He joined in her laughter and they both forgot about everything besides each other. For now, living in the moment never seemed like a better idea.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Well, I hope you liked it!! Sorry if it sucked guysss :/. Next chapter _will_ be better, I promise. PLEASE REVIEW and let me know if you liked it or not. I am hoping that everyone will still read this story even after all this time. So review and lemme know what you think guys. Bye for now!!

**Writer4ever14 (sammie)**


	11. Chapter 11: Choices

**Author's Note - Please read! (important) -** So I'm finally backk! I can't explain how sorry I am that it has been so long since I last updated, and i'm not even sure if anyone still reads this story. But regardless, I have a new chapter for you. After this, there is only going to be one more chapter and I guaruntee it won't be as long of a wait as last time. All I can say is that in the last two years, life happened and I got distracted from writing in general. I am so sorry for not updating, and I hope (if anyone still reads this story) that you really like this chapter. Important information - In this chapter, it has been about six months since the last chapter, so Sakuno is 15 9almost 16) and Ryoma is 16 9almost 17). So that's all I have to say. Once again, I AM SO SORRY for not updating. I really hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you so much to anyone that continues to read this story :)

"I don't think we should be-ah!-doing this here," she said as he pulled her into a bedroom and quickly shut the door. Before she could even take a breath, he had pushed her against the bed and once again attacked her lips with his own.

"Now what were you saying about doing this here?" he murmured as he removed his lips from hers and began trailing kissed down her neck. Before she could even attempt to respond, he bit her neck gently causing her to gasp loudly. She somehow managed to tread her fingers threw his inky black hair.

"Tha-that is going to leave a hickey, how...how am i-i supposed to explain that?" she managed to get out.

"Just tell them it was from me," he said confidently. She smiled softly in response, knowing how lucky she was to have him. Who would have thought they would end up together like this? She was certainly-"Oops!"

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt!" Sakuno exclaimed suddenly as she saw An and Mom making out quite vigorously on a bed. "Ah I was looking for Ryoma...sorry for interrupting, bye!" she exclaimed quickly as she slammed the door shut. Sakuno leaned her back against the door, her face red as a tomato. Even though she knew they were dating she wasn't expected to see..._that_ when she opened the door. They had been so..._into_ it. The thought that someone might walk in on her and Ryoma doing that one day popped into her head. She shook those thoughts out of her head and continued doing what she had been doing earlier – searching for Ryoma.

Ryoma took a deep breath as he lay down on his bed. He had just gotten back from a, in his opinion, waste-of-time meeting with his father. He hadn't heard one word said the whole time. All he could think about was Sakuno... she was all he think about in the last few months. It had been about six months now since they started...dating. They hadn't told anyone yet, since they both agreed they should wait until they had been dating awhile.

"Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno's quiet voice immediately pulled him out of his thoughts. He opened his eyes and stared at her unnervingly before motioning her forward. She shut their bedroom door and quickly made her way over to him. Before she could protest he gently pulled her down next to him and placed a gentle kiss on her head. Honestly, he sometimes he was still confused about this whole thing with Sakuno. But there was one thing he _was_ sure about: he cared about her. And that was enough for him. "Ryoma do y-mphh!" Ryoma silenced Sakuno before she could continue. She had been trying to talk to him about their "relationship" but the moment he kissed her...well, there was no chance in hell she could think about anything but _him_.

Later, the two young lovers were both lying on Ryoma's bed talking softly. Sakuno was cuddled into his side contently while Ryoma was rubbing her back gently. "So," he said quietly, "when do you want me to introduce you to everyone as my girlfriend?" In response, Sakuno's eyes widened and she jumped up.

"What?" she asked, her disbelief clear in her voice. Ryoma resisted the urge to roll his eyes and calmly repeated himself.

"I said, when do you want me to introduce you to everyone as my girlfriend?" he said, an amused glint in his eyes. Sakuno simply continued to stare at him in amazement, trying to process what he just said. "I can't wait to let everyone know that you're mine," he whispered huskily in her ear. He gently cradled the back of her neck as he began to place light kisses along the side of her face. She sighed contently as she closed her eyes.

"Ryoma, wait," Sakuno stared at him wordlessly. She knew that she had _technically_ been his girlfriend for about six months now. It just had never really hit her that this was all _real_. Truthfully, there was a big part of her that was convinced that this wasn't going to work out. Ryoma was a prince – he was going to be expected to marry a princess or someone of upper class one day. It was tradition. But then again, Ryoma wasn't the type to care about tradition, anyway.

"Is something wrong?" Ryoma asked breaking her train of thought. She looked up at him, taking in the small frown on his face. For what seemed like the millionth time, she was struck by how beautiful he was. Without thinking about it, she reached up to stroke his face. He laced his hand with her own, before gently pulling their hands down to their sides. "Sakuno, what is it?" he asked unflinchingly, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Nothing," she said as she offered him a smile. "I'm just excited to tell An and everyone about us." She did not even have a chance to say anything after that, before he kissed her. He wasted no time in sliding one of his arms around her lower back, pulling her tighter against him. His lips moved feverently against hers, as his other hand moved to cup her face. He had never kissed her like this before. With his tongue, he coaxed her lips opened and for a split second, she froze. She went to continue but Ryoma had felt it and already started to pull away. She opened her mouth to try and tell him she hadn't meant for that to happen, but no words came out. The room was silent except for their harsh breathing. She stared wordlessly at Ryoma who was looking everywhere but her. This was the moment something inside Sakuno snapped.

This was it. This was when she finally let go of her past – and started living her life. She was not the same scared, insecure little girl she had been. There was no way she was going to let her past interfere with her life, and her relationship with Ryoma, anymore. She was sixteen, and she was tired of acting like she was anything but. It was time she started living. Cupping his face, she gently turned him so he was facing her. Without hesitating, she leaned forward and firmly pressed her lips against his. Copying his earlier movements, she wrapped one arm around his neck and smoothly pulled herself on top of him. Once again, he wasted no time in coaxing her mouth open. Their tongues tangled together as Ryoma's hands traveled down the length of her body. She ran her hands over his firm abs, enjoying the shaky breath he gave off as she did.

"This all feels like a really good dream," she whispered against his mouth. Raising her head, she looked at Ryoma through half-lidded eyes.

"You are my dream" was the response she got as he moved to place feather-light kisses up and down her neck.

"I love you," she whispered half-dazed as he brought his face up next to hers. He gave her a small smile before kissing her again. This time it was a soft, slow kiss – one that told her they had all the time in the world. When they finally broke apart, she rested her head on his chest and just listened to the sound of his heart racing. She smiled softly, realizing she had that affect on him. She was sure her heart was racing just as hard. In that moment, she was struck by how happy she was. There was no other place she could imagine being but here, in Ryoma's arms. She knew that moments like these are what life is all about. The crazy thing is, if you had told her this is where she would be one day she never would have believed you. That was when she learned that life often had a funny way of playing out like.

"I love you Sakuno," Ryoma murmured as he kissed the top of her head. Hearing his words, the smile on her face turned into a full-blown grin. She pressed her lips against his, as she realized she was wrong. Now this moment _truly_ couldn't get any better. "Now that I know you're ready to tell everyone, the only question is, who should we tell first?" Ryoma asked.

"Is that even a question?" Sakuno sighed as she grinned at him.

"Summer" they both said in unison.

"She would probably kill me if I didn't tell her first anyway" Ryoma muttered as they made their way to Summer's bedroom. Sakuno shot him a smile, before stopping in front of her door.

"Are you ready for this, Sakuno?" Ryoma asked. She took a deep breath and nodded, before knocking on the door.

"Come in, " Summer shouted. Ryoma followed Sakuno into the room, making sure to firmly shut the door behind them. He took in the image before him – Summer was sitting cross-legged on her bedroom floor, in ripped jeans and a tank top. She had pictures spread out all over the floor in front of her.

"Hey guys," she said as she looked up with a warm smile.

"Summer, what I want to-"Wait, do not come any closer" Summer interrupted her. Sakuno froze where she was and backed up slowly.

"Sorry, I have been organizing these pictures into a specific order for my collage all day," Summer added.

"There's something we need to talk to you about, " Ryoma said, cutting right to the chase.

"Is something wrong?" Summer asked as she put the picture in her hands down and moved to stand up. "Look guys, if something happened that I should know-

"Ryoma and I are together – we're dating," Sakuno interrupted her, surprising Ryoma. Summer stared at her wordlessly, her eyes wide.

"Finally," she said as she threw her arms around Sakuno and pulled her into a hug.

"You know you just ruined your pictures, right?" Ryoma commented dryly from behind them.

"Who the hell cares?" Summer said as she let go of Sakuno. "I'm so happy for you guys!" she said, hugging Ryoma tightly. "Am I the first one you told?" she asked. "When did this happen?"

"Yes, and a few months ago," Sakuno said sheepishly. Summer glared at the two of them before breaking into a mischief smile.

"It's okay, I knew you were dating anyway." She said, to which Sakuno sputtered. "As long as I'm the first one you told. If I wasn't I would have to had killed you," she continued, as she gave Ryoma a pointed look.

"See? I told you," Ryoma said as he threw a smug look at Sakuno.

"I have been waiting for you guys to admit it, it was only a matter of time. With Ryoma being the stubborn idiot he was, I wasn't sure how long it would take," Summer commented, ignoring the glare Ryoma shot her way. "So you guys obviously have already kissed, right?" A blush colored Sakuno's face as images of what they had been doing before this ran through her mind.

"That is none of your business," Ryoma stated as he wrapped his arms around Sakuno.

"It's okay, we'll just talk about it later Sakuno, after you're away from this idiot," Summer replied as she winked at Sakuno.

"I got to go, I just remembered I told Aya I would help her out today with the preparation for the party tonight," Sakuno said suddenly.

"Come find me when you're done," Ryoma whispered as he walked her to the door.

"I'll see you later Sakuno," Summer said winking at Sakuno one last time.

"Okay. Bye guys," she said as she kissed Ryoma once last time before leaving.

"I'm really happy for you. Sakuno is an amazing girl, " Summer said from behind him.

"I know," he stated as he locked the door. He turned around and gave Summer a serious look. "I care about Sakuno. She is important to me and I want to be able to always protect her – and keep her happy. Which is why I need your help," he began. Summer's eyebrow shot up but she did not say anything. "I knew you would accept Sakuno. Just like I know my parents will accept Sakuno, and that all our friends will accept Sakuno. Truthfully, I don't care about anyone else's opinion about our relationship. But I know that it is going to be a problem when I officially, and publicly, take a slave as my girlfriend," he finished slowly.

"Well, of course," Summer responded, for the first time since they began their conversation.

"I don't want her to worry, " he ignored her. "But I'm not sure what the best way to handle the situation is. I know that nobody knows mores about how the royalty and public works then you do," he looked at her, a hesitance in his eyes that Summer had never really seen on Ryoma before.

"So you figured you'd come to me for help," Summer stated firmly.

"Yes," he stared at her, "So can you help me?" She stared right back at him with an unreadable expression in her green eyes, Finally, she sighed and walked over to her window.

"In all honesty, not long after Sakuno arrived here, I started thinking about this. I wasn't sure that you two were going to end up together, but it didn't take long for it to become obvious that you would," she smiled slightly, staring out the window. "Once I realized how much you cared about Sakuno, I started trying to find all possible information about slaves and royalty."

"Did you find anything?" he asked, impatience clear in his voice.

"First, it's illegal for you to marry a slave. I know you're way too young to think about that, but you should keep that in mind. Also, it is going to be a problem when you want to take Sakuno with you to meetings and parties. Because she is a slave, there will be people that will refuse to treat her like she's a girlfriend. She won't be able to go a lot of places with you," Summer said slowly, staring directly into Ryoma's eyes.

"I know that," he said, staring firmly back at her. "Just tell me, what can I do about it?" he asked, the frustration slipping into his voice. She continued to stare at him for a moment, before turning to look back out the window. Then she answered him, her voice ringing clearly in the room.

"Free her."

Sakuno giggled as she made her way back towards their bedroom. She couldn't stop smiling. Telling Summer about Ryoma and her had been so...liberating. She was actually excited about telling everyone else. The only thing she wasn't sure about was whether to tell everyone individually or as a group. As she walked into their bedroom, she was surprised to see Ryoma wasn't there. Before she could think about it, she noticed a note on the dresser. She blinked in surprise before reading it:

_Dear Sakuno,_

_Something came up that I have to handle. As you know, we will be having some guests over later and I will be back in time for that. Go talk to Summer, she can tell you more about tonight. See you soon._

_Ryoma_

Sakuno smiled as she tucked the note in her pocket and made her way to Summer's room. She knew this happiness she was feeling was permanent. Nothing was going to tear them apart.

Ryoma's POV (point of view):

"Fuck," I muttered to myself, as I ran my fingers though my hair in frustration. I had been thinking about what Summer had told me all day. Instead of going to meet Sakuno, I had left her a note and gone for a walk. I've been trying to decide what to do. It's not that I don't want to free Sakuno – it just isn't that simple. Freeing her will make her much more open to dangerous situations. She will be not just a free woman but my, the prince's, girlfriend. Because of that there will always be people who will want to get their hands on her. Her life will literally be at risk. And the problem is, I can't be with her every second of the day. Truthfully, I know there is another more selfish reason I'm hesitating to do this. If I free her...there will be nothing tying her to me anymore.

If she doesn't want to, she won't have to stay here anymore. She could leave the castle – and leave me. I know she cares about me. But the reality is, I know we're young. I'm seventeen and she's sixteen. We really are just kids, compared to the rest of the world. But I know, somehow, that I am never going to want anyone like I want Sakuno. What if I drive her away one day? What if I mess up and she just decides to leave? Or what if she just gets tired of being with me? If she is free, she might realize being with me is a mistake. I should free her – that's what I have to do. It's the right thing to do, what I want to do. It's the only thing to do. I still can not shake the uncertainty from my mind. I sighed deeply as I turned and made my way back towards the house. "I'm going to take a shower, that's what I'm going to do," I muttered to myself. I just need to relax and figure this all out.

"So, is he a good kisser?" Summer smirked as Sakuno pulled a shirt over her head.

"I don't kiss and tell" Sakuno replied, not able to keep the smile from spreading across her face.

"That good, huh?" Summer said, a familiar wicked grin on her face. Sakuno shot her a rare sly, small smile before focusing her attention back on the matter at hands.

"How about this shirt?" she held up a patterned brown t-shirt to show Summer.

"No, it's too casual – hold on, I think I have something," Summer said. "So we know you like kissing him, how about making out with him?'

"Summer!" Sakuno blushed, as Summer laughed from where she was standing in the closest.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. You make it too easy" Summer teased as she disappeared into the closest. "Just give me a few minutes to find the dress I'm talking about." Still blushing, Sakuno sat down on the floor, looking through the scattered pile of pictures. She smiled at an old picture of Ryoma and Summer. According to the date on the back of it, the picture was taken about seven years ago. It looked like it was taken outside somewhere, most likely on a warm day. Summer was smiling cheekily, with her arm around Ryoma's shoulder. Sakuno laughed at the familiar half-smirk, half-smile on Ryoma's face. Guess some things really do never change. As she put the picture back down, another picture caught her eye. It was an unfamiliar picture of her and Ryoma. Neither of them were facing the camera: instead, they were looking at each other. She looked like she was laughing, while Ryoma surprisingly had a small smile on his face.

"You guys didn't even notice I took that picture," Sakuno jumped, dropping the picture at Summer's sudden voice.

"Sorry, I almost forgot you were here," Sakuno said sheepishly as she turned around.

"It's okay, you're in love," Summer smirked as she picked up the picture, "Here, I was going to give you it anyway" Sakuno took the picture whispering a quiet thank you, as she carefully looked over the picture again.

"It's not always going to be easy, Sakuno" Summer said abruptly, replacing the teasing tone in her voice with a serious one. Sakuno's eyes widened at the sudden change in topic, before letting the smile slip off her face.

"I know," Sakuno said simply after a moment. Summer was silent for a moment, before shaking her head.

"No, you don't know. How could you? " Summer began, her voice firm and steady. "You didn't grow up in this society. People are cruel, Sakuno. I know you know that, that you've experienced that first hand. I know you're a strong girl, stronger than _you _even give yourself credit for. But what you need to be aware of is that as Ryoma's girlfriend, that is not going to change. People are going to be a whole new kind of cruel to you. Harsh words and lies are going to be said about you. Dirty looks and glares are going to be sent your way, from all kinds of people: everyday people, nobility, and even other slaves. You are going to have to deal with jealousy, suspicion, distrust, and resentment. And you are going to have to deal with all of that everyday. People who know nothing about you will be out to get you. Your whole life is going to change, and once it does, there will be no going back. You're going to be forced to grow up. And your life will never be private again. I know you love Ryoma, Sakuno. Just like I know he loves you. Truthfully, I'm not sure if you're going to be able to handle it. But it is going to be such a contradiction. I know you've said your relationship with him is by far the best thing that has ever happened to you. But dealing with everything that comes with being with him, is going to be the hardest thing you've ever had to do" Summer finished, her voice never wavering. The silence in the room was deafening after Summer spoke, with neither of them saying a word.

"Well, they say nothing worth doing is ever easy," Sakuno finally said, lifting her face to stare directly at Summer. "I know it's going to be hard and that you just want me to be aware of what it is really going to be like for me. I appreciate you being honest with me. But now it is time for me to tell _you_ something. You're underestimating me, big time. You aren't giving me enough credit. I may be young and I may still have doubts and insecurities. And yeah, I still have a lot of growing up to do," Sakuno continued, her voice becoming stronger as she spoke.

"I have gone through a lot of hard moments in my life. I have been torn down, way down, to the point where life really wasn't worth living. I didn't get to be a kid like most people do. I've seen things that still haunt me sometimes. Sometimes I wake up screaming from a nightmare, and then realize, it's really a memory. But all of that is okay. Because it has made me who I am today, I am where I am today because of it. And where I am, is happy with myself and in an amazing relationship with Ryoma. Nothing could ever make me doubt our relationship. I know we love each other. I know I deserve to be with him, that I deserve to be happy. I am not going to let anyone, or anything, take that away from me. So, can you understand that Summer?" Sakuno finished, her voice clear and her eyes brown blazing brightly, with an intensity summer had never quite seen before in her.

"You know, you and Ryoma are going to be just fine. I don't have to worry about you anymore. It turns out I was right about you, you'll handle being with Ryoma just fine" Summer said slowly, a smirk appearing on her face. Sakuno stared at her, confusion showing on her face. She sat there, trying to understand what just_ happened_. "Sakuno, I know you and Ryoma are going to be fine. You have a great relationship and there is honestly nobody I'd rather see with him. I know you have the strength and the passion to handle what it's going to be like. I just needed to make sure _you _knew you had the strength to handle it," Summer explained, smiling softly at her friend.

Sakuno shook her head, the words sinking in. She knew she should be mad at Summer for that, or at least annoyed with her. But, somehow, she felt like laughing, which is exactly what she did. Before she knew, both of them were lying there, laughing together, and erasing any tension that was there. They both knew that this would be one of those moments they would both remember years from now, that they would always look back on this moment and be glad they're friends.

"Now," Summer wiped her eyes off, "Why don't you try this dress on?"

Sakuno stared at the mirror in front of her, taking in the young girl staring back at her. It was hard to believe that the girl staring back at her was _her. _That the beautiful, confident girl looking back at her was her. In a way, it was like looking at a stranger. She had grown so much in the last few months. She felt older, in so many ways. Now, she realized, she had changed physically too. She has started working out with Summer a few months ago, hoping to be able to become stronger, so she could always defend herself. The result of that was that she has gained a layer of muscle on her legs and stomach that she had never had before. She had even grown a few inches taller, and even went up a bra size.

She was wearing a dress Summer had lent her tonight. The dress had a strapless, sweetheart neckline and was a deep, emerald green color. It fell to her knees in the front, and fell to the floor in the back. It was clear to her now, that she had left her childhood behind. A smile spread across her face, as she realized she was not a young girl anymore. No, she was a beautiful, young woman now, who was finding her place in the world. She could finally see what Ryoma had seen in her all along.

Truthfully, Sakuno was worried about tonight. She knew that tonight could change everything. Making their relationship official excited her but it terrified her at the same time. Because when it came down to it, the idea that she could lose Ryoma, scared her more than anything in the world. But she was not a scared little girl anymore. She was not going to let her fear get to her.

"Hey," Ryoma said as he entered the room, pulling her out of her thoughts. She turned around and smiled at him. She watched as, just for a second, he stopped and stared at her. "You look beautiful," he said, his eyes never leaving her as he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"You don't look too bad yourself," she teased, reaching for his hand. He smiled in response, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Is something wrong?" she said softly, watching as he simply shook his head.

"C'mon, lets head downstairs," he said as he went to head out the door. She stepped in front of him and firmly pushed him backwards. He raised an eyebrow at her in question, but she just shook her head and pushed him again. Then she grabbed his hand and pulled him down onto the bed with her.

"I want to know what's wrong. I _know_ something is wrong, and we are not going downstairs until you talk to me," she said quietly, with fierceness in her eyes, as she stared directly into his eyes. She could see the wavering in his eyes, that he was deciding whether or not to it was worth it to argue with her. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and rubbed his temple like he was massaging away a headache. Sakuno frowned, thinking she had annoyed him, which wasn't what she wanted to do. But when he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer, she knew he wasn't annoyed with her.

"It's been a really long day. Hell, it's been a really long _week_," he started. "I've been going to meetings and conferences all week. I had to sort through all this paperwork today, and try to figure out whether or not we should enact the proposed agriculture plan. I haven't even gotten a chance to play tennis since last week," he sighed deeply, nuzzling her neck. "Now, we have to go to this loud annoying party filled with mostly people I couldn't care less about. After I introduce you as my girlfriend, I know I'm going to have to deal with idiots want to say something about it. And on top of that, we'll have to deal with my annoying, perverted father and our annoying friends. And all I really want to do tonight is to relax and lay here with you," he finished. Sakuno blinked, taking in everything he had just said, surprised by it all. A smile quickly came to her face, as she tried unsuccessfully not to laugh. Ryoma lifted his head to look at her, as she tried to stop laughing.

"I'm glad you find my suffering amusing," he grumbled, as she shook her head.

"No, it's not funny," she said, still trying to keep the smile off her face. "It's just, what you just said, its _so _you. You would complain about that. And if anyone ever heard you say all that, they wouldn't believe its you" she pushed her face into his neck and he felt her smile against his throat.

"But you know, if you want to, we can just stay here tonight," she added, not seeing Ryoma's eyes widen in disbelief.

"Really?" he lifted her chin up, to look her directly in the eyes.

"It's up to you," she shrugged, a lazy smile on her face. "We don't have to tell everyone about us tonight. We could stay in and have a quiet evening, I don't mind. Whatever makes you happy" she looked down at their joined hands, gently running her fingers over his. If she looked up, she would have seen the emotions flickering across his face. He knew that she was excited about tonight, about announcing to the world that she was his girlfriend. He knew she had been waiting for this for a long time. Yet, he knew that she really would be okay with staying in tonight – that she really did just want to make him happy. So, Ryoma knew that there was really only one thing to do.

"Okay," he pulled the two of them up, "let's go downstairs and get this over with." Sakuno froze and dropped his hand, causing him to turn around, a familiar smirk on his face.

"Really?" Sakuno whispered, her eyes watching. Ryoma barely had a chance to react, before she threw her arms around him. "You're amazing," she breathed out, as she pressed a kissed against his collarbone.

"I know," he smirked, as he pulled her tighter against him and pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. He could feel her body shake as she laughed, and could tell she had been trembling before that. Whether it was from excitement or nervousness, or both, he didn't know. For a while, the couple just stood there, enjoying being wrapped up in each other.

"Okay, let's do this," Sakuno said as she moved towards the door.

"Wait, one last thing," Ryoma grabbed her wrist.

"What?" she asked, as he stepped up behind her and slowly turned her around to face him. Cupping her face in both of his hands, he reached down and pressed his mouth to hers firmly. Her eyes flittered closed, and he felt her relax against him. They kissed softly, letting the heat between them build up slowly. Ryoma slowly swept his tongue across Sakuno's, causing her to push herself harder against him. But before she could continue, Ryoma pulled away and shook his head.

"Later. If we start that now, I'll never let you leave this room," he said, tracing the edge of her jaw with his hand. She blushed in response, and he bent down and kissed her softly, one last time. And for them, nothing existed outside this moment. In this moment, there was no past, or uncertain future, or anybody else in the world. There was only just the two of them, in their own little world. When the kiss finally ended, they simply looked at each other without saying a word. And with that, they headed downstairs.

"There you are," An said, as she came up behind Sakuno, a big smile on her face.

"Hey! It's so good to see you," Sakuno said, as she hugged her friend. As they pulled apart, Sakuno took in An's appearance. She wore a gorgeous knee-length purple dress. The dress had a jagged strapless neckline and was fitted all over, showing off her athletic frame. With her high sparkly silver shoes and dark eye makeup, An looked every inch the beautiful and supplicated aristocratic woman.

"You look incredible. Momo must not be able to keep his hands off you," she said playfully.

"Yeah well, he'll have to deal with just looking, at least until this thing is over," An said with a wink. "Now you, look _amazing_. That must be why Ryoma, and pretty much every guy here, hasn't been able to keep their eyes off of you." Sakuno blushed, shaking her head. "Where is Ryoma, anyway? You two are always together." An said, a knowing smile on her face.

"Are you implying something, An?" a familiar voice drawled from behind them.

"Of course not, Ryoma. I wouldn't dare," Ann replied. "But I'm going to go find Momo before he gets himself into to much trouble. Be good, you two," she threw a quick wink at Sakuno, before heading in Momo's direction.

"Hey," Ryoma said softly, giving her a quick smile. Sakuno took in Ryoma's appearance, for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. He wore a simple, fitted black tux over a white dress shirt. He looked exactly like what one would expect royalty to look like. They has arrived downstairs about an hour ago. Ryoma had gone off to welcome guests and then his dad had pulled him away to talk to someone.

"C'mon, let's go make our announcement," Ryoma said, his eyes boring into hers.

"Now?" she gasped.

"Yes. Unless you're not ready," he stated calmly, raising an eyebrow. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, shaking away her doubt and fear. When she finally opened them again, he could see the determination in them.

"I'm ready," she breathed out. He nodded, and started walking towards the front of the room. She followed him as they made their way up to the small stage there. As they made their way up the steps, she could feel everyone's eyes on them. She could hear the whispers starting, and she knew some people were saying who she was, Ryoma's slave. She held her head up and ignored it all, knowing that soon, they would probably be saying a lot worse about her. Ryoma grabbed the microphone and called for the crowd's attention. As he greeted them, Sakuno caught sight of Summer and An standing on a couch, waving. When Summer caught Sakuno's eye, she gave her a big grin and winked at her.

"First, I just want to say thank you to all of you for coming here tonight" Ryoma began steadily. He calmly waited for the cheers to stop, before continuing. "As you all know, one day I will take over for my father as king. But as most of you know, I am not a very sociable person" he said, as the crowd erupted into laughter. "But there is something I want to share with you tonight. You see, there is a person who has become very important to me and she is a big part of my life now. I want her to be included in every part of my life – including this part. As you're future king, I want you all to know who she is. I'd appreciate it if you all show her the same respect and kindness you show me," at this point, he reached out and grabbed Sakuno's hand.

"I want you all to meet Sakuno, my girlfriend," he finished. For a moment, everyone stood there, in stunned silence.

"It's about freaking time!" Momo shouted, breaking the silence. At this, the room erupted into chaos. Eiji, Momo and all the rest of them were making catcalls and cheering, along with An and Summer. Some of the older people were silent, with their jaws on the floor. Ryoma's mother was standing there with a small, knowing smile on her face. His dad stared wide-eyed for a second, before breaking out into a big grin and turning to his wife.

"I knew Ryoma would grow up eventually – I'm so proud," he said, as she rolled her eyes at her husband's antics.

"But she's just a lowly slave! She's a whore – you can't date _her_," a girl called out, a sneer on her face.

"I dare you to say another word about Sakuno," An said as she stepped up to the girl, "the only one that's a whore around here is _you_." With that, Nanjiro stepped up on stage and took the mike from his son, who shot him a suspicious look.

"Okay, I need everyone to calm down," he said, his voice turning serious. "I want to thank you all for coming tonight, but I think it's best if you all leave now. I'd like to spend some quality time with my son and his girlfriend, that I'd like to get to know better," he said, surprising Ryoma. And with these words from their king, there was nothing for anyone to do but make their way out. As Momo and the group escorted everyone out, Ryoma turned to look at his father.

"Thank you for that dad," he said quietly, staring him directly in the eyes. Nanjiro smiled a small, serious smile that Ryoma wasn't used to seeing on him.

"I'm happy for you Ryoma. I won't let anyone give you or Sakuno a problem," he said as he pulled his surprised son into a huge. After a few moments, Ryoma returned the hug. "I'm proud of you son," Nanjiro whispered as Ryoma pulled away from him. Ryoma nodded slowly, and then Nanjiro turned towards Sakuno.

"Come here and give me a hug Sakuno!" he said as he pulled the surprised girl into a tight hug. "It's so nice to know my son is actually a normal teenage boy. Now, how he managed to get such a pretty girl, I don't understand." At this, Sakuno blushed and tried to stutter out a response.

"Oh, ignore my husband Sakuno. Welcome to the family," Rinko said with a sweet smile as she hugged Sakuno.

"Thank you both so much," Sakuno finally managed to get out, as Rinko let go of her and Ryoma gently pulled her back to him.

"Sakuno is exhausted – we're going upstairs. We'll talk more tomorrow," Ryoma said curtly, as he kissed his mom's cheek.

"It's been a long night," his mother nodded sympathetically, "have a good night."

"Well, don't have too much of a good night," Nanjiro leered at his son. "Or if you do, make sure you use prot-"

"Let's go, Sakuno," Ryoma cut him off, as he quickly pulled her towards the stairs. Sakuno just stared confusedly at his father, trying to figure out what he was talking about. The last thing they heard when they reached the top of the stairs was the sound of his mother hitting Nanjiro upside the head. After that, for the next few hours, their friends had come in and out if their room all night, to congratulate them and tease them about their relationship, of course. Ryoma had finally told them, politely, to get the hell out and then proceeded to shut and lock the door behind them. That had let them to where they were now – which was laying on the bed, with Ryoma's arms wrapped rightly around Sakuno whose face was buried in his neck.

"Thank you so much for tonight, Ryoma," she whispered as she looked up at him, her eyes wet. He smiled at her, a small, rare smile.

"Don't thank me, Sakuno. You never have to thank me," he said as he brushed his hand across her cheek.

"I've never been this happy before. I never thought I could be this happy," she said quietly as she cuddled in closer to him, closing her eyes. For a few minutes, the two of them just layed there silently, Sakuno's words running through his mind.

"Yea, me neither," Ryoma finally said softly as he pressed a kiss to Sakuno's head. Although Ryoma couldn't see it, a smile spread across Sakuno's face at his words. Sakuno leaned up to kiss him softly, as she moved her hands to wrap them around his neck. Ryoma kissed her back gently for a moment, before he let the heat build. Sakuno pulled herself closer to him, as Ryoma's hands slid down to her waist. Just as she opened her mouth to deepen the kiss, Ryoma pulled away suddenly.

"Wait Sakuno, there's something we have to talk about first,' Ryoma said, his voice ragged. Sakuno groaned and pulled herself up to stare at him through half-lidded eyes.

"Can't it wait?" she asked, a pout on her face. Ryoma shook his head and moved off the bed to his dresser. He pulled out a few papers before handing them to Sakuno, who stared at him with a baffled expression. She opened her mouth to ask him about them, when he cut her off.

"Just read them, Sakuno," he said staring at her directly. She slowly nodded before turning to the papers. Ryoma watched her carefully, as her eyes scanned the words on the page, her eyes widening as she did. When she got to the bottom of the second page, she dropped the papers and raised her gaze to Ryoma. Her eyes were wide and Ryoma could see the confusion in them.

"Ever since we got together, I've been thinking about this," he began, his voice steady and even. "I want to be with you Sakuno, and I want you to be comfortable and happy with me. I know it's not going to be easy for you to be my girlfriend. You're going to have to deal with a lot of cruel, and jealous people. I don't want you to have to deal with more than you already have to. I don't want people to have any extra reasons to say anything bad about you or our relationship. So, I had the papers filled out – and I signed them today. So as of today, you are no longer a slave – you are legally a free citizen," Ryoma finished softly, his eyes carefully waiting to take in Sakuno's reaction.

Sakuno stared at the papers in her hands, Ryoma's last words echoing over and over in her mind. Never in a million years had she thought this would happen. It was a dream she had given up on as a little girl, when she realized dreaming got you nowhere. And here, she was just so happy with Ryoma, it had never even crossed her mind.

"I know this might be a lot to take in. But I want you to know this doesn't change anything about you and me. You can still stay here, unless you don't want to," Ryoma said, a slight hesitance in his voice. At this, the tears that had built in Sakuno's eyes finally started to spill down her cheeks.

"Oh Ryoma, of course I want to," she finally said, as she threw her arms around him. Her pulled her as tightly to him as he could as she sobbed against his chest. "Thank you Ryoma, so much. God, I never dreamed this would happen. You really didn't have to do this, " she said as she smiled up at him. He smiled at her, pulling her head out of her face.

"Yes, I did," he said simply, as he kissed her eagerly, wiping her tears away as he did. She turned the kiss just as eagerly, wanting to show him just how much it meant to her.

"I love you, Ryoma – so much," she said in a breathless whisper, causing him to smile at her softly.

"I love you Sakuno," he said huskily. This time, she kissed him and he eagerly returned it. The young couple fell onto the bed, their legs intertwined. Ryoma's hands ran lazily up Sakuno's sides, as her hands stayed tightly around his neck. The two of them pressed as tightly together as they could, shutting out the world around them as they concentrated only on each other. They kissed passionately, with an energy they had never had before. Even when the heat finally died down and the two were exhausted; they stayed wrapped up in each other, with Ryoma's arms tightly around Sakuno. Sakuno fell asleep first, her head nuzzled in Ryoma's neck. Ryoma kissed her one last time on the forehead, before sleep consumed him as well. He fell asleep with the thought that this was only just the beginning of their relationship, and as a result, the true beginning of his life. And he wouldn't have it any other way.

End of chapter

**Author's**** Note** - So that was the second to last chapter. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I really hope you guys like it. Feel free to message me with any questions or comments. And of course, reviews are sincerely appreciated ;) Since we are so close to the end of this story, I would love to hear what you guys think of this chapter. Thank you all for reading this MUCH belated chapter1 :)


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